Worth Fighting For
by donna79
Summary: This is the sequel to The Best Friend Finally Gets The Girl.  The battle over Bella takes place in this chapter.  Not just against the newborns, but Jacob and Edward as well.  Picks up where the last story left off.
1. A Matter of Trust

**Story Title: Worth Fighting For**

**Summary: This is the sequel to The Best Friend Finally Gets the Girl. The battle over Bella takes place in this story. Not only against the newborns, but between Jacob and Edward as well. Picks up where the last story left off.**

**Disclaimer: I own Twilight! **

**Emmett: No you don't.**

**Me: Yes, I do. At least that's the voices in my head keep telling me.**

**Emmett: Well in that case, can you tell them that I want a million dollars?**

**Me: Will do.**

**I want to thank everyone for the wonderful response to my last story. I hope this one will live up to all of your expectations.**

**I haven't forgotten about the promise that Bella made to Jacob at the end of the last story. It will happen in this chapter.**

**Sorry for keeping you guys from reading. But, I want to warn you that this story will contain lemons. If that's not your thing, I understand. I'm not going to force you to read it. It won't get too graphic. But I'll warn you at the start of each chapter that it happens in. Starting with this chapter.**

Bella was at work when she heard the bell over the door jingle. She heard light footsteps make their way down the stairs at the front of the store. Then, the person stopped.

"Bella?"

"AAisle four, Angela."

A minute later, Angela stood in front of her.Bella looked up from the shelf she was stocking, wondering why Angela had come to see her. Angela wasn't the type of person who sought someone out unless there was something important that she needed.

"Hi." Angela said, smiling politely.

"Hey."

"I need a favor. I asked Ben, but he has plans this weekend."

"What is it?"

"Can you help me address my graduation announcements?"

"Sure. Is Saturday okay?"

"Saturday is perfect. You don't have plans this weekend?"

"My boyfriend is helping his sister move back home. She just graduated from college. So my weekend is free."

"When am I going to get to meet him? You've been dating him for almost two months." Angela asked, in a teasing manner.

The bell jingled again, but neither of them heard anything.

"Bells?" Jacob asked from the front of the store.

"Aisle four. You're about to meet him." Bella said the last line, just loud enough for Angela to hear.

Angela walked to the end of the aisle, and stared at Jacob as he walked towards them.

"Hi." she said with a smile.

"Hey." Jacob said returning her smile.

"Jake, this is Angela, Angela this is Jake."

"It's nice to finally meet you. Bella's told me a lot about you." Angela said politely.

"She's told me a lot about you too."

"Really?

"She says you're her best girl friend."

"We do talk a lot. My boyfriend keeps us from hanging out."

"I probably have something to do with that too." Jacob said laughing.

"More than likely." Angela said, agreeing with him.

"I wanted to bring your phone by. I went to Port Angeles and got it a little while ago."

"I told you that I was going to replace it."

"I broke it, it's only fair that I replace it."

"I should go. It was nice meeting you Jake."

"You too."

"Bye, Angela."

"See you tomorrow."

Jacob waited until Angela was gone, before pulling Bella to him.

"Newton isn't here today is he?"

"He's off today. His dad is in the office."

"What time do you get off?"

"In twenty minutes."

"I can wait. Then I'll follow you home."

"Did you fall asleep during school today?"

"Not even once." he said, smirking down at her.

"So, I have to take off five things." she said, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I am so looking forward to later."

"I bet you are perv." she said, smacking him playfully in the chest.

"Hey, it was your idea." he said defending himself.

"I know." she said rolling her eyes.

"Bella, are you almost done?" Mr. Newton asked, from a few aisles over.

"I'm putting up the last of the shipment of tackle now."

"You can leave when you're done."

"What can I do to help?"

"You can grab my stuff from off the counter. If he catches you helping me again I'll more than likely get fired. Plus, I'm done." she said, putting the last box on the shelf.

She went into the back to clock out, but when she came back to the front, Jacob was nowhere in sight. She walked out of the store, seeing him leaning against the Rabbit, talking on the phone. She sat on the hood, listening to his end of the conversation.

"I know. But they said that they are willing to help, all of them."

He was talking to someone about the Cullen's. Maybe it was Sam.

"I'll talk to them." he shut the phone a few seconds later.

He stood in front of her, with a sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"The Cullen's have made their presence known."

"They have?"

"Edward talked to Sam without my knowing. Sam could have killed him Bells."

"Sam was that mad?"

"He was on our territory. Treaty or no treaty. He never should have done that."

"What did he say?"

"Sam didn't tell me. They're having another meeting tonight. Just the two of them."

"Shouldn't you be a part of it?"

"It's the Alpha who makes the decisions on what we do."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to follow you home. Then, I'm going to spend a few hours with you before I have run patrol."

He helped her down before walking the few feet to her truck. He opened the door for her, as she searched through her bag for her keys. With her dad not there, they would have the house to themselves until he had to leave.

He sat at the kitchen table doing his homework while she made dinner. They talked off and on, not knowing what to say. Which was new for them, things had never been awkward between them. She sat down across from him while waiting for the biscuits to cook.

"Talk to me." she said, putting a hand on his.

He looked up from his notebook, giving her a sad smile.

"I just don't like that they're back here."

"With them here, it will make things easier. They won't have to run all the way from Tacoma if something happens."

"He can also see you whenever he wants."

"It's also my decision if I want to see him."

"I know that. I would never tell you that you couldn't see him."

"I know you wouldn't, that's why you're different than he is. You're better than he is. Never forget that."

"You think that I'm better than he is?"

"You just said that you would never make me choose between the two of you. He did that on several occasions."

"Which is why I never saw you last summer?" he asked, giving her a hurt look.

"I'm sorry. I know that I can't undo what happened. But I won't do it again."

"You can see him whenever you want. I'm giving you permission."

"Thank you. It won't be today, maybe not even tomorrow. Even though I'll see him at school, oh God they'll be back at school. Edward and I have every class together."

"Oh well, that's just great." Jacob said with a sigh, as he rolled his eyes.

"It's a little late in the year for me to ask to switch seats, so I'll just have to deal with it."

"He'll be sitting next to you?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"I shouldn't have said that out loud. Not yet, at least. His seat has never been filled."

"In every class?"

"Yes. He talked our teachers into it. He can persuade anybody to do anything."

"If he tries anything, remind him that I know how to kill him."

"Jacob..."

"Take my mind off of him."

"We can go upstairs after dinner." she said, with a smile.

"Much better, I'm calm." he said, squeezing her hand.

Bella put dinner on the table, and they ate in silence. They usually did eat in silence when Charlie wasn't there. It was the only time that they were content not to say anything.

Bella went upstairs first, and asked Jacob to wait downstairs until she called him. A few minutes later, she called his name. He quietly made his way up the stairs, seeing a soft glow coming from Bella's room. He stood at the door, taking everything in. She had placed candles all around the room.

Bella stood in middle of the room, looking down at her hands. It was one of the rare moments that she felt insecure. Jacob had always made her feel confident, fearless, beautiful. He crossed the room to take one of her hands in his. She looked up at him, but refused to lift her head.

"How about I start?" he asked, pulling his shirt over his head.

"The deal was that I would do it." she said, shaking her head.

"I'm changing the rules."

"Sit down." she said, gesturing towards the bed with a smile.

He leaned back on the bed resting on his elbows. She gathered her courage, before pulling her shirt over her head. Luckily, she had worn a tank top under her shirt today.

"That's one." she said, giving him a confident look.

Her flip flops were next.

"That's two, and three."

"You're cheating!" he said with a laugh.

"Shoes count as clothes."

"Lucky for me you aren't wearing socks. They could have been four and five."

"Shoot. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Too late now." he said, giving her a teasing smile.

She pulled her hair tie from her hair, before flinging it at him.

"That's four." she said smugly.

"You don't have much else."

She slowly unbuckled her belt, and pulled it from it loops.

"That's five." he said, standing.

"The belt doesn't count." she said, walking over to him.

She gently pushed him back onto the bed, before unbuttoning her jeans. The zipper was next before she slowly pushed them down her hips. They fell to her feet, and she put her hands on his shoulders to balance herself as she kicked them off.

Jacob pulled Bella to him as she straddled his lap. She was wearing pretty much what she wore to bed every night, but now, it felt freeing. He ran his fingers through her hair, as she closed the gap between them. She pushed him back onto the bed as she ground her hips into his. He groaned as he gripped her shoulders. She pulled away giving him a questioning look.

"I only have half an hour before I have to leave."

"Well then, I'll just have work fast. Won't I?" she asked, putting her hands between them.

She slowly made her way down to the waist band of his jeans. She never broke eye contact as she undid the button, then the zipper. She rolled over on her side, pulling her with him. She would have more room this way. Her hand was down his pants, before she could lose her nerve. She had let him do so many things to her. It was time for her to stop being a wuss and go for it.

Her fingers wrapped around his erection, and she slowly ran her hand down its length.

"Bells, if you want this to happen. You're going to have to be faster than that." he said, with a sigh.

"Right." she said, with a nod.

She couldn't even wrap her whole hand around it. Which scared her. If she couldn't wrap her hand around it, what was going to happen when they actually had sex? She pushed the thought from her mind, as she quickened her pace. She heard Jacob grunt, then sigh, making her look up. His eyes were closed, and his lips were slightly parted. She leaned over him, not breaking her stride. She gently brushed her lips to his. She felt his breath hitch, letting her know that he was enjoying what she was doing.

He pulled away from her, before putting a hand on her arm that was down his pants.

"Stop."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't, I'm going to have to go home and change before I go on patrol."

"Then, I'll take off your pants." she said, pulling her hand from his pants.

She leaned down, and quickly unzipped his pants before he could object. She pushed them down, along with his boxers to his ankles. She looked down, taking him in. She had never seen him completely naked before. She let out an unsteady sigh as she reached for him, before regaining the momentum from before. A minute later his breathing was labored. She felt him constrict under her hand, a few seconds later his semen oozed through her fingers.

He brought his breathing back under control before staring at her in wonder. She gave him a goofy smile before pulling her hand away. She reached over the side of the bed into her laundry basket and pulled out a towel. She wiped her hand on it before handing it to him.

He cleaned himself up silently. He threw the towel back into the basket, before leaning up on his arms. Bella sat on the edge of the bed, watching him with questioning eyes. Did he regret what had just happened? She hoped not. Because if he did, than he was the biggest hypocrite she had ever met. He reached out to take hold of her hand, before pulling her to him.

"I can't believe you just did that." he said, against her hair.

"You didn't like it?"

"I never said that I didn't like it. Jeez Bells, what guy wouldn't want a hand job from his girlfriend?"

"I wanted to return the favor." she said, against his neck.

"Well, I can't argue with that." he said teasingly.

"I would hope not." she said, brushing her fingers across his shoulder blades.

"Don't you start." he said pulling away from her, giving her a threatening look.

"Why? It's fun." she said, running her fingers in the opposite direction.

While she was ticklish all over, Jacob had only one ticklish spot. His shoulder blades. She had found that out when she had accidentally run her fingers across them too slowly when they were making out, not long after they had gotten together. He captured her arms before rolling them over. He looked down at her, giving her an intense look. It was the look, that he saved only for her. The one that let her know just how much he loved her.

He leaned down to gently brush his lips to hers, before he let go of her arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping him where he was. His phone rang, making him groan in frustration. He pulled away, before leaning over the side of the bed, to grab his phone from his pants. He looked at the clock beside her bed before he opened it. He was twenty minutes late for patrol.

"If Sam chews me out, I'm blaming you." he said before flipping his phone open.

Bella shook her head with a smile.

"I'm here now. She's making me dinner before I go out. We got a little behind."

"I'll know if you're lying." Sam said with a laugh.

"I'm going outside now." Jake said with a sigh.

"He got lucky didn't he?" Paul asked in the background.

"Something like that." Jake said under his breath.

"Paul be quiet. I'll let you go."

Jake shut the phone with a sigh.

"Are you in trouble?"

"No. I'll never hear the end of it tonight though."

"I'd apologize. But I wouldn't mean it." she said with a laugh.

"You'd better not apologize." he said, before tying his pants and shirt to his ankle.

"I'll come out and say goodnight in a little while."

"You know where to find me."

"You'll be where you always are. Right under the tree."

"That's my tree." he said protectively.

"No one else is allowed to climb it." she said, shaking her head.

"I better not catch anybody else climbing it." he said, before kissing her quickly.

She watched him climb out the window, then jump from branch to branch in two strides. He phased before looking back up to her window. She waved before moving away from the window.

XXXX

Jake could never understand why his dad had volunteered him to help Rachel. She didn't do anything, other than tell him where to put stuff. She had a knack for bossing him around, she always had. Right now he was thinking of ways that he could kill her in her sleep. She could be demanding when she wanted to be. He could hear her on the phone with their dad complaining that he had broken her 'atom ball'. She was such a nerd.

Thank God she would only be home for the summer. Maybe he could talk Embry into helping him unload everything when they got home. As it was she was going to need a storage unit. She had already mentioned that she wanted to put everything in the garage. Billy had put a stop to that really quick.

"Rach, that's your brother's territory. He's got his bike in there, it's the only place big enough that he can work on his car and the truck. I'll pay for a storage unit if you need one."

"I can't ask you to do that dad."

"Well, your brother isn't going to give up the garage. So don't ask him."

"Yes sir."

She shut her phone as she watched Jacob carry the last box out of the room. She followed him out of the room, and out of the building to their dad's truck.

The drive from Seattle to La Push was quiet. All three hours, were spent in complete silence. Jacob couldn't remember the last time he had gone that long without talking. They pulled up in front of their house, seeing Embry sitting on the front porch.

"Embry Lucas Call. You have grown!" Rachel said, once she had gotten out of the truck.

"Hey Rach." he said with a smile.

"Give me a hug my favorite pretend little brother." she said, with outstretched arms.

"I'm your only pretend little brother." he said hugging her loosely.

"Nuh uh. Ryan's my pretend little brother too."

"Too bad he's not mine." Jacob said sarcastically.

"Ryan doesn't talk to y'all anymore?"

"Not since you and Hannah left." Jacob said, pulling down the tailgate.

Embry was quiet as he helped Jacob unload the truck. Luckily everything fit into the small room that up until yesterday had been Jake's.

"It's only for a few months son. You'll manage."

"I know. You know she didn't help me load a single box? But once we get here, she's a busy body."

"Because she knows how to push your buttons. Just like Bella does."

"Bella would have helped me load the truck dad. And you know it."

"Who's Bella?" Rachel asked, coming into the room.

"You haven't told your sister?" Embry asked in confusion.

"No, I have not. Not her at least." Jake said, hoping that the subject would be closed.

"Who's Bella, Jake?"

"Bella Swan."

"Charlies daughter? The one who would used play paintball and refused to play with Barbies?"

"Go Bella!" Embry said with a laugh.

"That's the one." Jake said with a nod.

"Don't tell me that she's crazy enough to date you." Rachel said with a laugh.

"Apparently she is." Jake said, giving her a smart ass smile.

"Then she needs her head examined."

"Rachel Lynn, you leave him alone. Bella is a good girl. She keeps me from kicking your brothers butt most of the time."

"Yeah, Bella's great." Embry said, agreeing with Billy.

"Where is she now?"

"She's helping a friend with something. Are we done? Do you need help unpacking?"

"I can do that. I would like to see Bella though. I haven't seen her in like, eight years."

"Some other time. Come on Embry." Jacob said, before walking out of the room.

Jacob and Embry walked on the beach in silence until he brought up what was on his mind.

"Leave it to Rachel to bring up Hannah, and Ryan."

"Hannah is her best friend."

"She knows how you feel about her."

"Just because I had a crush on her when she went to school with us, doesn't mean that Rachel can't be friends with her."

"You still have a crush on her."

"I do not!" Embry said, getting defensive.

"Don't deny it. You haven't seen her in what? Four years?"

"I saw her three times last summer, thank you very much."

"Uh huh. 'I don't have a crush on her'. Liar."

"Shut up." Embry said, before pushing him into the surf.

Jacob's jeans were wet all the way up to his knees, as he chased Embry down the beach.

"What are you running for wuss?"

"Who are you calling a wuss?" Embry asked stopping.

Jake caught up to him, before bum rushing him. They rolled around in the sand before a wave came crashing over them. They were laughing as they coughed up water. The two friends lay on the beach, catching their breath, taking in the silence. It felt good to let their guards down. They were only seventeen, yet they held the fate of their girlfriend/one of their closest friends within their grasps. Anyone else would never have been able to handle it. They were going to do whatever they could to keep Bella safe. But right now, they were going to savor a moment of normalcy.


	2. It Doesn't Hurt to Ask

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't believe me? I'll just have to make Jasper change your mind. **

**You guys are the best. Thank you to everyone who added this story to their favorites, put me on their alert list, or sent in a review. You guys don't know how much it means to me, you really don't.**

**I want thank the wonderful krismom for stepping up to the plate for this story. I am in the process of reading her story The Velveteen Mom, and it's wonderful. You all should go and check it out. **

Bella heard her dad come in around three that morning. He was trying to be as quiet as possible, but he managed to trip over the last step and had to turn on the light in the hall.

"Hey dad."

"I didn't mean to wake you up. Sorry." he said, coming to stand at her door.

"You didn't wake me up. I'm having trouble sleeping."

"What's wrong?" he asked, before sitting on the bed.

"The Cullen's are back."

"I had heard that." he said with a nod.

"It's going to be awkward. I'm dreading going to school tomorrow."

"I'm sure that you'll do fine. Try not to worry about it. Get some sleep." he said before leaning over her.

He hugged her tightly, before brushing his lips over her forehead. She smiled at him as he pulled away. He was in his bedroom, before Bella threw her legs over the side of the bed. She quietly opened the window, to look down into the yard. Jacob was leaning against the tree in human form, he lifted his head, giving her a worried look.

"Go to sleep. I'm fine." she said, with a smile.

"Get some sleep, Bells. You worry too much."

"So do you." she said, with a laugh.

"Good night." he said, before closing his eyes.

"'Night." she said, before moving away from the window.

XXXX

Bella was one of the first people in the parking lot when she pulled in. She looked around, trying to see if she saw anyone she knew. Mike was getting out of his Jeep, and Jessica was with him. She walked over to them as Mike was locking up.

"Hey." Jessica said with a smile.

Bella smiled back, before waving.

"I heard that the Cullen's are back." she said, giving Bella a concerned look.

"I talked to Edward the other day. They should be here today." Bella said, with a nod.

"Is Jacob okay with you talking to him?"

"He says he is. It was the first time that I had talked to Edward since he left."

"Well I don't see why they came back. I mean, there's less than a month left before school lets out." Mike said, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.

"I don't know." Bella said, with a shrug.

"My mom wanted me to ask you if you could come in this afternoon. She has to take my brother to the doctor."

"Sure." she said, glad that they conversation had turned away from Edward and his family.

She knew that people would be talking about them all day. And she would likely be brought in to most of those conversations. She personally thought that everyone should mind their own business. But, in a small town like Forks, that was hard to do.

XXXX

Edward stayed a safe distance away from Bella during English. He had gone so far as to push his desk as far away from hers as he could manage. She did appreciate that he was willing to do that without her asking him. Alice had engulfed her in a bone crushing hug as soon as she had seen her. Jasper gave her a warm smile, as he nodded his head. She felt good knowing that they were there. It kept her from having to deal with Edward by herself.

At lunch Bella sat at her usual table, while the Cullen's took over the table that they'd had at the beginning of the year. Bella felt someone watching her, she wondered why as she scanned the room. Finally, her gaze fell on the Cullens table. Edward was watching her with curious eyes. She gave him a small smile, before turning her attention back to her table.

After Gym, Alice was waiting for Bella outside the girls locker room.

"I need to talk to you." she said, with a smile.

"What's up?"

"Esme wants you to come over. I told her that you wouldn't feel up to it, since you and Edward aren't together anymore, but she insisted."

"I don't know."

"If his being there will be a problem, you could bring Jacob." Alice said, giving her a pleading look.

"You want me to bring my werewolf boyfriend to a house full of vampires? One of whom, is my ex boyfriend?" Bella asked, only loud enough for Alice to hear.

"It would be problematic, yes. But we would manage, if it made you happy."

"He barely made it through the night that Emmett stayed with me. He can barely tolerate Edward. The last time he saw Jasper, he was so mad at him that he wanted to rip him apart...Alice, do you really want him there?"

"Emmett would love to see him. He asked about him just this morning."

"And Rosalie?"

"She would be a problem." Alice said, nodding her head.

"I don't know." Bella said with a sigh.

"Just think about it. Please?"

"I'll think about it."

"Thank you. By the way, I see Edward leaving for the weekend. I'm pretty sure that I can talk Rose into going with him." Alice said, before pulling her in for a gentle hug.

"Okay."

"I'll ask Esme to have dinner ready by seven."

"Jacob eats a lot. Like enough to feed a small army."

"I'll be sure to let Esme know. Any preference to what he likes to eat?"

"Anything. He is partial to steak though."

"A steak dinner it is."

Edward stood off to the side, giving Alice a venomous look. Jasper stood beside him, with a hand on his shoulder. Alice saw them before waving goodbye to Bella. She made her way over to them with a guilty look.

"Do you want to tell me why I am having to hold him back from hurting you?" Jasper asked, giving her a panicked look.

"I invited Bella over for dinner Saturday."

"Tell him everything." Edward said with a snarl.

"Jacob will also be there. She wouldn't come unless he could."

"Alice, you have to know that what you did was wrong." Jasper said with a shake of his head.

"Edward won't be there. That's the only reason that she is coming. I had to practically twist her arm."

"Why would you invite her over to begin with?"

"Esme asked me to this morning. She misses Bella." Alice said looking down at her feet.

Neither man could say anything after that. They weren't going to deny their mother of something that made her happy.

"You'll need to ask Rosalie to go with you." Jasper said breaking the silence.

"That's not going to be easy." Edward said still glowering at Alice.

"Stop it. Now. She feels bad enough as it is." Jasper said, tightening his hold on Edward.

"I am not sorry for asking her to come over. I am not going to lie, and say that I am. But I am sorry for hurting you. I don't like seeing you like this." she said, tenderly putting a hand to Edwards cheek.

"He has given her something that I never could." Edward said, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Who has given who what?" Jasper asked letting go of him.

"Jacob. He has given Bella something that I was so scared of taking from her."

"What?" Alice asked giving him a questioning look.

"Life. That's why it hurts so much. I see them together in his head. She is so free when she is with him. Looking back now I realize how much I was holding her back."

"No you were not. She wouldn't have stayed with you if you were holding her back. She loved you. I could feel it radiating off of her." Jasper said.

"I'm going to tell you something. I wasn't going to tell you, because I didn't want to hurt you. Not long after the two of you started dating I looked into Bella's future. Hoping to see what she would look like as a vampire. All I saw was black, there was nothing."

"You knew that this would happen, and didn't tell me?"

"Let me finish. The other day, I was thinking of her, because I was worried about her. And I finally had a vision of her. Edward, she is happy now. But down the road, she will know more happiness, warmth, and love than she has ever known. I won't go into details, because it will hurt you too much. She and Jacob are going to be together for a very long time. Possibly the rest of their lives. Seeing as that was the only vision I have seen of her. You have to move on."

"Thank you for being honest with me." he said, before walking away.

"I can't imagine what he is going through." Alice said, leaning against Jasper.

"Probably the same thing I would be going through if I lost you."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I know that, but that doesn't mean that the thought hasn't crossed my mind." he said before lightly kissing her hair.

They were both worried for their brother. They weren't used to Edward being so sullen, or unhappy.

He was the most genuine, kind hearted person they had ever met. He was so much like their parents, caring, nurturing, willing to help anyone who asked for his help. Neither of them knew when he would be whole again.

XXXX

Bella sat across from Jacob later that afternoon. She had just broached the subject of dinner at the Cullen's. His face was blank, so she had no idea what was going through his mind. His eyes met hers, just before he opened his mouth to say something. He closed it again, with a shake of his head.

"Say something, anything."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"We can go."

"Really?" she asked, looking at him hopefully.

"It will make you happy, to see their parents right?"

"I owe Carlisle so much, and Esme is like a second mother to me."

"I can't say no to that." he said, with a sigh.

"I promise you, Edward will not be there. I don't think Rosalie will be either."

"Why won't she be there?"

"She has a problem with me dating you. She doesn't agree with it."

"Well, that's her problem. She's not the one that I'm dating."

"I'll have to have a talk with her. I'm not her favorite person, I've never been."

"You know what? I hope she is there Saturday, I want to set her straight."

"Don't make me have to ask Jasper to control your mood again." she said, threatening him.

He sighed before pulling her to him. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, before burying his face in her hair. Her ear was pressed to his chest, and she could hear his heart thundering in her ear. He was mad, but he would get over it. He would do this because she wanted him to.

XXXX

The Rabbit pulled up out front of the Cullen's at six thirty. Alice had asked them to come early so that the family could spend time with them before dinner. The door opened, as they stood at the bottom of the steps. They both looked up, surprised to see the person in front of them.

"I thought that you said that he wouldn't be here." Jacob said once Edward walked away.

"Alice said that she'd had a vision. He would be hunting this weekend. It's the only reason I said that we would come."

"Well apparently he changed his mind." Jacob said with a sigh.

"Let's just go inside." she said, pulling him up the stairs.

The house was still as a tomb when they walked in. Edward stood at the bottom of the stairs, as Jacob shut the door behind them. Alice came down the hall smiling.

"I'm so glad that you could make it." she said, standing in front of them.

"I have been telling you for the past three days that we were coming."

"I didn't see Carlisle change Edward's mind. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Bella said, brushing it off.

"Hello Jacob." she said smiling warmly up at him.

"Hi." he said, giving her a tight lipped smile.

"I thought I smelled dog." Rosalie said from the kitchen.

"Rose, be nice." Esme said before coming out of the kitchen.

She glided to Bella with open arms. She enveloped Bella in a hug as she looked up at Jacob. She gave him a welcoming smile before she pulled away.

"You do not need to be nervous. We will not hurt you."

"Speak for yourself."

"Rose, apologize." Carlisle said, from the living room.

Rosalie scoffed, before going back to what she was doing.

"Jake!" Emmett called from the living room.

"Hey Emmett." Jacob said, from where he was.

"You can come in here. We're watching soccer."

"Go." Bella said, once Esme had let go of her..

"You know where to find me if you need me." he said letting go of her hand.

"Come with us." Alice said, before pulling Bella down the hall to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Rosalie was chopping lettuce and putting it into a bowl. She looked up as Bella walked into the kitchen.

"Don't expect me to be nice to you."

"Rosalie, do not start." Esme said warning her.

"No, it's okay. I know that she doesn't like me."

"It's not that I don't like you. I just think that you make very stupid decisions. I pity you." she said, as continued to angrily chop the lettuce.

Bella sat at the table, watching the three woman move around the kitchen.

"Is Edward coming down?"

"No. He has decided to stay upstairs." Esme said shaking her head.

"No thanks to you." Rosalie said glaring at her.

"Okay Rose, out. I will not have you talking to our guest that way." Esme said before shoving Rosalie out of the room.

"Could you at least sit somewhere else? Now he is going to smell like dog for the rest of the week!" Rosalie screamed from the living room.

"He asked me to sit here!" Jacob said, defending himself.

"Rosalie apologize, then go upstairs." Bella heard Carlisle say from the living room.

Rosalie growled before storming up the stairs.

"I should go and see if he's okay."

"Jacob can't take care of himself?"

"He gets angry really easily. I'll be right back." Bella said before walking out of the room.

Bella walked into the living room seeing Emmett, Jacob, and Carlisle on the couch. Jasper sat a few feet away on the love seat, his hands gripping the sides. Apparently, he was having trouble controlling himself.

"Jasper? I think Alice and Esme might need help in the kitchen if you want to go and help them." Bella said, giving him an apathetic look.

He nodded before standing. He put a hand on her shoulder as he stopped at her side.

"Thank you Bella. It's good to have you here again."

She smiled up at him before he walked away. She took his place, before turning her attention to the TV.

"Who's winning?" she asked, because it was a commercial break.

"England." Emmett said, before grinning from ear to ear.

She smiled back before meeting Carlisle's gaze. He smiled warmly at her before rising from his seat.

"I can switch seats with you Bella. Sitting in between these two is like going for a ride in Emmett's Jeep. You know how that is." he said with a laugh.

"Yes I do." she said hugging him.

"It's good to see you again." he said smiling again.

"You too." she said before before sitting down.

"Carlisle, why don't you go upstairs and see if you can talk Edward into coming downstairs?" Esme called from the kitchen.

"You don't have to. We don't expect him to come down."

"I'm already here." Edward said from the entrance way.

Bella looked over Emmett's shoulder, to see Edward staring at Jacob. Jacob, for once was not touching her. He knew that it would be awkward. So he would force himself not to.

"Hey." Jacob said, turning his head to look at him.

"Jacob." Edward said with a nod.

"Hi." Bella said shyly.

He nodded again, before sitting down across the room. Bella felt his eyes on her, just as she had a few days before. He had been watching her a lot since then. He refused to meet her eyes when she caught him. Things were still raw for him. He wasn't used to not being able to pull her into his arms whenever he wanted. He would never kiss her again. His soul mate had chosen someone else. He couldn't be mad at Jacob, he wasn't a bad person. He knew that Jacob honestly cared for Bella, even if he didn't know the whole story.

XXXX

Dinner had been filled with laughter and conversation. Jasper had calmed down when he realized that Jacob wasn't going to do anything rash. Edward had even sat down to dinner with them. Even if he hadn't said anything, it felt right that he was there. Bella didn't want him to change who he was just because they weren't together. Rosalie however, had refused to come down. Emmett had stayed downstairs until dinner, then went up to check on her.

Bella and Jacob were about to leave, when he said goodbye from the top of the stairs. Esme had loaded them up with leftovers. There was enough food to feed the entire pack, plus Charlie and Billy. The whole family stood around them as they stood at the door.

"Thank you for inviting us." Jacob said as he helped Bella with her sweater.

"It was our pleasure." Esme said with a smile.

"Don't be a stranger Jacob. Now that you know where we live, you may come over whenever you like." Carlisle said holding out his hand.

A growl could be heard from upstairs and Emmett's soothing voice was heard a few seconds later. Jacob shook Carlisle's hand as Edward stepped forward.

"I think that we should meet, our family and your pack need to discuss things." Edward said in a quiet voice.

"I'll talk to Sam."

"Thank you Jacob." he said, giving him a curt smile.

Jacob and Bella were outside a few seconds later. He opened her door for her before coming around to his side. He looked back to the house, to see Edward at standing on the porch. He nodded, before going inside and shutting the door. Bella turned to face him as he got into the car. She took hold of his free hand once he had started the car. Their fingers interlaced out of habit.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming tonight. I wouldn't have thought any less of you if you had decided that we should leave once you found out that Edward was here."

"He wasn't so bad. His family is nice."

"They really are."

"Almost normal. Except that they don't eat."

"You can take it all home. Charlie and I won't be able to eat it all." she said, gesturing to the food that filled up half of the back seat.

"The pack won't turn down free food. Especially steak and mashed potatoes." he said with a laugh.

Charlie was still up when they walked in. He was in the kitchen, rinsing out a bowl when Bella walked into the kitchen.

"How'd it go?"

"It was eventful. Nobody got hurt." she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Good to know. I'm gonna head up to bed. Make sure you lock up when Jake leaves."

"I will."

"'Night."

"G'night dad." she said hugging him loosely.

Jacob waited until he was upstairs before pulling Bella to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he wrapped his around her neck. He kissed her softly before applying more pressure. Her hands traveled down his hips to rest at his butt. She did like grabbing it, whenever she got a chance. He had a lot to grab on to. That was a plus. He sighed against her lips as ran his tongue across her bottom lip.

She opened her mouth to him before letting her hands come to rest at his hips once again. He pulled away, resting his arms on her shoulders.

"I should go. My dad gave me a curfew tonight."

"Why?"

"Because of Rachel. She doesn't know yet."

"You're going to tell her?"

"I kind of half to. It's not like with Embry's mom. She'll understand, plus I don't want her getting freaked out if one of the others comes into the yard in wolf form.

"You have a point."

"I'll come over after she goes to sleep."

"Okay." she said kissing him gently.

He walked to the front door before turning back around.

"Don't forget that Jared's out there. Don't open the window unless it's me."

"I won't." she said shaking her head.

XXXX

It was the hottest day of the year so far, and Embry had let Jake talk him into helping him work on his dad's truck. At least they weren't outside. The faint breeze from the fan did nothing to alleviate the stifling heat of the garage. He heard a car pull up out front, but didn't think anything of it.

"That must be Hannah." Jacob said absentmindedly.

"Hannah's coming over?"

"She's staying here while her mom and Ryan go on a cross country college tour. She'll be here for three weeks."

"You're kidding."

"You're not going inside until we're done."

"I have to leave in half an hour anyway. I have to go to work."

XXXX

He stood on Jacob's porch, waiting for someone to answer the door. He should have just gone around back. That's more than likely where he was. He heard someone on the other side of the door and decided to just wait it out. It was more than likely Billy. His eye brows shot up in surprise when he heard footsteps. Definitely not Billy.

The door opened and he was taken aback by the most intense brown eyes he had ever seen. When had Rachel gotten home? And when had she gotten a nice rack? He remembered her as being a Mathlete, and the president of the Science Club. The girl in front of him was nothing like he remembered.

"Can I help you?"

"Is Jake here?" he asked, finally finding his voice.

"He's around back. Paul, right?"

"Yeah. And you're Rachel." he said, giving her a smile.

"Very good." she said sarcastically.

"Paul?" Jacob called from around the side of the house.

"I'll see you later." she said with a nod.

"Definitely." he said giving her another smile.

He walked down the stairs backwards as Rachel watched him. His feet slipped off the bottom step making him grab hold of the banister.

"Are you okay?" she asked giving him a worried look.

"That last steps a doozy."

Rachel laughed as she watched him walk around the side of the house.

"Oh man, I am so glad that I came home this summer." she said once she closed the door.

**See? I don't hate Edward. He's just not my favorite person. As usual, let me know what you think.**


	3. Too Much, Too Soon

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: I own Twilight!**

**Jacob: Here we go again.**

**Me: I own you.**

**Jacob: I resent that.**

**Me: I don't care.**

**Disregard the disclaimer. I'm hyped up on Pepsi and Skittles right now. Scary, isn't it?**

Jacob fidgeted in his seat wondering when there was going to be a end to the list of names. He had only come because Jared's parents had asked the entire pack to come see Jared graduate. He had promised Bella that he would be there by now. Her graduation started in less than an hour and a half. Jared's name had been called, so it wasn't like Jacob hadn't seen him graduate. He picked up Rachel's arm, glancing down at her watch.

"Would you chill? We still have an hour and a half before we have to be there." she whispered, in an agitated voice.

"I promised her that I would be there early."

"Jake, if you want to go I'm sure that Paul would understand. Your sister, Embry, and I will be there as soon as this is over."

"Thanks dad." Jacob said, before standing up.

He knew that now most of the people behind him wouldn't be able to see. And that the people on his row would more than likely cower in fear of him stepping on them, but he didn't care. He cautiously made his way down the row, seeing Embry at the end.

"Do you want to come with me?" Jake asked stopping in front of him.

"You go. You should be alone with her." Embry said shaking his head.

"See you later."

Embry waved, as Jacob passed him to walk up the center aisle. He could be at Forks High in less than forty minutes, if he didn't hit any traffic. He climbed into his car, seeing his graduation present for Bella hanging from his rear view mirror. He hoped that she would like it. Knowing her the way he did, he was sure that she would love it.

Since he was the only person leaving, he didn't have any traffic leaving the school. He pulled out onto the main road, which was clear of cars. So far so good. He knew that he would more than likely come upon traffic when he got closer to Forks. He would deal with that when the time came. Right now, he had his foot pressed to the gas peddle, going as fast as he possibly could.

Fifty minutes later, he was entering the Forks High Gym. He looked around for Bella, but didn't see her in the mass of students. Her graduating class was twice the size that Jared's had been. He heard someone call his name and he turned, seeing Alice walking towards him.

"Hi," she said, pulling him in for a hug.

It had taken him some time to get used to that. But after three weeks of it happening every time he saw her, he had gotten used to it. Jasper stood a few feet away with his hands behind his back. He nodded in acknowledgment as Jake looked at him. Edward stood next to him, talking on his phone.

"Bella is in the hall. She wanted to me to show you where to go." Alice said before pulling him away.

They were met with a throng of parents, and relatives as they walked through the Gym doors and out into the hall. He saw Charlie off to the side, and Bella sat on a bench next to him.

"I see her, thanks Alice." he said, patting her hand.

"Being around you is like going to therapy. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're very soothing. You just have a calm, natural presence."

"He's my own personal sun." Bella said joining the conversation.

"You said it so much better than I did. Then again, you've known him longer. I'll go." she said letting go of Jake's hand.

"See you inside." Bella said as she walked away.

"I'm gonna head inside too. I'll save you a seat Jake." Charlie said with a nod.

"My dad, Rachel, and Embry should be here soon."

"I'll make sure to save seats for them too." Charlie said, before walking away.

They watched Charlie follow Alice through the doors before Bella leaned against him. He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist as people walked past them. She took in what he was wearing, surprised that he was dressed nice. She had never seen him in a dress shirt, much less a coat and tie. The light blue shirt brought his dark brown eyes to life. They were the first thing that people would notice about him today.

"Hey Bella, hey Jake." Angela said as she past them.

She continued down the hall, being pulled by Ben. He threw a wave over his shoulder at Bella before walking into the Gym. Bella looked up at Jake at him grinning from ear to ear.

"You're going to make a smart ass comment about me having one more year of school, aren't you?"

"I was. But I decided not to." she said laying her head on his shoulder.

He tightened his hold on her as they walked down the hall. Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme were walking into the Gym as they were walking in.

"I didn't think that you would be here Jacob. Didn't you have school today?" Esme asked from beside him.

"No ma'am. I took my last exam yesterday," he said shaking his head.

"I should probably go. Everybody is starting to line up." Bella said pulling on her gown.

"I want a picture of you before you leave." Esme said before walking away.

"Alone, finally." Jake said before, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"As alone as we can be in a room full of people." Bella said still smiling.

"I don't see anyone else." he said shaking his head.

"Well then, you have selective vision. Mind if I borrow it for a minute?"

He smiled, before brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes. He helped her put on her cap before pulling her closer to him.

"I am not kissing you in front of a couple hundred people." she said shaking her head.

"I am throwing all of my selective vision at you right now. Because I don't care if people see me." he said before leaning down.

He pressed his lips firmly to hers, not caring if the entire world saw him kissing her. Her fingers threaded into his hair as someone cleared their throat.

"Get a room!" The person said with a laugh.

"I am going to count to three and open my eyes. And when I do, my sister is not going to be behind you." he said, with a groan.

"I can hear you, ya know?" Rachel said in aggravation.

"Good. Then you'll hear this, go away." he said not pulling away from Bella.

"He's been really stealth like, trying to keep me away from you. He thinks I'll tell you embarrassing stories about him from when he was younger."

"I know you will."

"I know I will too." she said in a smart alike manner.

"You two fight like an old married couple." Bella said laugh.

"Eww." Jake said cringing, as Rachel said "We do not!" at the same time.

"Their dad says the same thing." Embry said, joining the conversation.

"I believe it." Bella said nodding.

"What is this? Gang up on Jake day?" Jake said rolling his eyes.

"Your dad sent me to come and get you two."

"Hey you." Bella said letting go of Jake.

"Hey." Embry said opening his arms, so that she could walk into them.

"You better careful little brother. Embry just might take your girl." Rachel said teasing him.

"That will never happen." Embry said, rolling his eyes at her over Bella's shoulder.

He held on a few seconds longer before seeing someone out of the corner of his eye. His eyebrows furrowed in worry as he caught an all too familiar scent.

"You must be Edward." Embry said, letting go of Bella.

"Yes, I am."

"Edward this is Embry, Jake's best friend. And that's Rachel, Jake's sister." Bella said with and arm still draped over Embry's shoulders.

"It's nice to meet the both of you. Bella?" he asked, gesturing towards the line of students.

She nodded before letting go of Embry. Jacob pulled her hand into his before she could walk away. He squeezed it quickly before letting go. She gave him a grateful smile before walking away. She followed Edward quietly, he wouldn't turn around to look at her. She knew that Jacob's being there hurt him. But she knew that Embry, and Jacob's family being there hurt even more. He wasn't a part of her life in that way anymore. H would eventually settle for being her friend, right now the wound was still new. It hurt too much to think about her with anyone else. Even if that person was right for her in every way. Bella stood behind Jessica in line, while Edward made his way to the front of the line to stand behind Alice

Had it really only been a year ago that they had met? It had seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had changed, Bella wasn't the same person she was when she had first met him. He had to see that.

XXXX

Bella was exhausted by the time she got home that night. The Cullen's had insisted on taking Charlie, Billy, Jacob, Rachel, and her out to dinner. Embry had come up with the excuse of having to work to get out of it. He may respect the Cullen's, but he didn't feel comfortable around them, not yet.

She waited by the window, watching for Jacob. She had never seen him more nervous than he had been when she had last seen him. He had gotten a call from Sam, while they were at the restaurant. He had explained that it hadn't had anything to do with Victoria, just that something had happened on the reservation, and that Sam needed his help.

Her phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. Her dad stood at the door, watching her with worried eyes. He knew something was wrong, he also knew that Bella would keep it to herself. She didn't like unloading her problems on him. She picked up the phone from the bed, seeing Jacob's name flash across the screen.

"Jake?" she asked answering it.

"Hey," he sounded almost as exhausted as she was.

Charlie walked away without saying a word. He was really good about knowing when she needed her privacy.

"Is everything okay?"

"It will be, just not tonight."

"You can't come over, can you?" she asked just above a whisper.

"No."

"What happened?"

"It's Quil."

"It's happened, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, he's not adjusting that well. He's fighting it."

"Take all the time that you need. You should be there for him, Embry too."

"I'll try and come by this weekend. I still have to give you your graduation present."

"I told you that you didn't have to get me anything." she said with a laugh.

"And I told you that I was doing it anyway."

Bella was off the phone a minute later. She was hoping that no one else have to change. From the few times that she had seen Quil, she knew that he would be able to handle the change. She had prayed harder than she ever had before, hoping that it wouldn't happen. Now, it weighed down on her heart, that he had changed because of something that was partly her fault.

XXXX

Jacob walked up the ramp to his house in a state of complete exhaustion. He still wasn't used to not having to step up onto the steps. He stumbled when his foot stepped onto air. If he hadn't have been so tired he wouldn't have made the noise he had when he grabbed hold of the railing.

The light was still on in the living room. Which meant that someone was still up. He knew it wasn't her dad or Rachel, they were known for going to bed early. That meant that it was Hannah. Hopefully, she wouldn't want to have a long drawn out conversation, knowing her the way he did, she wouldn't. She had always been direct and to the point.

He walked into the house seeing Hannah sitting on the couch. She lifted her eyes from the book she was reading before closing it. He made his way into the room before sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

"You look like a zombie."

"I feel like one." he said, resting his head against the back of the couch.

"I wanted to talk to you something. It won't take long."

"What?"

"Are you still friends with Quil?"

"Yeah." he said turning his head to look at her.

"Why doesn't he come over anymore?"

"We just started being friends again."

"Does he not like your girlfriend?"

"He doesn't know that I have one."

"See? If I was dating someone, the first person I would tell is my best friend. I don't care if it's the middle of the night, I would call your sister and tell her everything."

"Technically, I did do that. I just didn't call Quil."

"Then who? I haven't seen anyone come over to see you in the three weeks that I have been here."

"He's been in hiding." Jacob said with a laugh.

"The mystery best friend? What is he afraid of? Rachel?"

"You." he said with a shake of his head.

"Me? He doesn't even know me!" she said with a laugh.

"Yes, he does. Think about it, who is it?"

The room was silent as Hannah thought about what Jacob had said. Then it dawned on her. No, it couldn't be.

"Embry." she said with a sigh.

"She'll take 'She's not dumb, she clueless' for a thousand Alex."

"Smart ass," she said smacking him upside the head.

"You never caught all those looks that he gave you when we were younger? God, I thought everybody knew."

"I knew. I just figured that he would be over it by now."

"Apparently you're hard to get over."

"He was cute from what I remember."

"I can't tell you if he still is or not. I don't swing that way."

"I hope not." she said with a scoff.

"You want his number?"

"You'd give it to me?"

"Are you going to call him?"

"I haven't talked to him in four years."

"He's changed a lot since then. He's not the shy fourteen year old that you remember. I'll give you his number, it's up to you if you want to call him." he said grabbing her phone from off the table in front of them.

He programmed Embry's number in without saying another word. Hannah watched him, not knowing what to say. He sat back against the couch with a sigh. She moved closer to him, before draping an arm over his shoulders. He pulled her close to him with one arm and she hugged him loosely.

"G'night." she said before letting go.

"'Night." he said as she got up from the couch.

Jacob lay on the couch taking in all that had happened that day. Bella's graduation, Quil turning, the fight that he and Quil had almost gotten into when he tried to get near him. Embry was the one who had been able to calm him down. It had taken six hours before Quil would even look at Jacob again.

He hadn't been prepared for that. He hadn't heard of anyone reacting the way that Quil had. Quil had been his friend before Embry had, yet Embry was his best friend. Quil had understood, they were only six when the three of them had become friends. They had come a long way.

XXXX

Embry sat in Jacob's living room, wondering why Jacob had asked him to come over. He had made himself scarce as soon as he had found out that Hannah was coming. Jacob had had to force him into his car before explaining that Rachel had taken Hannah out to lunch so that Embry could come over. He could hear him in the kitchen going through the refrigerator.

Jacob came into the living room handing him a beer. Embry gave him a weird look before twisting the cap.

"My dad said that it was okay, as long as we had one each."

"I can only think of one other time that he let me drink a beer. That was when the first time I... Jake, did you and Bella have sex?"

"No. This is about you...Again."

"I haven't been with another girl." Embry said shaking his head.

"I know you haven't."

"Then what?"

"I have something I need to tell you."

"Okay." Embry said, giving him a look, letting him know that he could continue.

"I had a talk with a certain girl, well woman actually, who shall remain nameless. I gave her your number, I'm surprised she hasn't called you yet."

"You gave Hannah my number?"

"It's a good thing the two of you are smart. You two are perfect for each other."

"You had no right doing that."

"It's the same right that you had when you told Bella that I imprinted on her. She digs you man." Jacob said giving Embry's shoulder a playful shove.

"She said that she liked me?" he asked, looking at his friend hopefully.

"She said that she thought that you were cute when you were younger."

"Thank you." he said as a grin spread across his face.

"You want her number?"

"Hell yeah dude!" he said with a laugh.

Jacob smiled before clinking his beer bottle with Embry's. The conversation had gone easier than he had thought it would. It was amazing what a girl could do to change a guys aspect on things. Like finding out that the girl that you'd had a crush on for the past four years had liked you the whole time.

XXXX

Quil had been standing in the middle of the kitchen when Emily had walked in. Her sister had followed her, carrying her two year old daughter. Quil felt the entire room lurch forward and grabbed onto the chair in front of him for support. Jacob and Embry both gave him worried glances. Emily and her sister walked out of the room, but not before handing the little girl off to Sam. He tossed her in the air playfully as Quil watched the little girls every move.

"Quil, can I talk to you?" Jacob said breaking the silence.

"Huh?" he asked not taking his off of he little girl.

"Outside, Quil." Jacob said before standing.

Sam stopped what he was doing taking notice of what was going on.

"Nat? I'm gonna leave Claire in here. I need to go outside." Sam said giving Quil a warning look.

"Okay." Natalia said from upstairs.

The four of them were outside on the front porch before Sam put a hand on Quil's shoulder.

"You alright?"

"What just happened?" Quil asked giving the three of them a confused look.

"I didn't think that it would happen this soon." Sam said raking a hand over his face.

"It did with me." Jacob said shrugging.

"Yeah? Well, you were supposed to be Alpha too." Sam said with a sigh.

"Are the two of you going to stop babbling? Embry, a little help?"

"He just imprinted didn't he?"

"I think he did." Jacob said shaking his head.

"On a toddler." Sam said with a small laugh.

"I what?"

"I've got this." Jacob said draping an arm over Quil's shoulders.

He led him down the stairs as Emily came out the front door.

"What's going on?"

"Garry's going to need to invest in a shot gun."

"Why?" Emily asked, giving him a worried look.

"Quil just imprinted on his baby girl."

"No!" Emily said in shock.

"Are you okay with it?" Sam asked draping an arm over her shoulders.

"I'm fine with it. But she's still a baby practically."

"Apparently that doesn't matter."

"And you're letting Jake explain it to him?"

"Jake volunteered." Embry said joining the conversation.

"He thought it would be easier if it came from him."

Embry left, not really having a destination in mind. He walked along the road leading to his house before hearing a painful howl. Quil wasn't taking imprinting as well as Sam, Jared, and Jacob had. He felt like a third wheel when it came to Jacob and Bella, and Sam and Emily, now he was going to have to see Quil talking baby talk to a little kid. Luckily, Jared and Kim didn't flaunt their relationship around him. He didn't blame the wolves who had imprinted, they couldn't help it. He couldn't help but wonder when it was going to be his turn.

**I have a picture of Taylor Lautner wearing the outfit that he wore to Bella's graduation. All I can say is that he looks good as a sharp dressed man! I can put it up on my home page if you guys want. Why couldn't he be just a little bit older? Like maybe ten years older? Is that too much to ask?**

**So I missed all but the last ten minutes of the Teen Choice Awards the other night. But, I did notice something. Taylor Lautner has huge forearms. They're almost twice the size of one of mine! Dudes or Dudettes, whichever you prefer, that's just not fair!**


	4. On the Outside Looking In

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just wish I did.**

**AN: If feels so good to be able to update again. I have missed talking to all of you and reading your stories. I had to delete every e-mail I had the other night because I had close to three thousand of them. If any of you want to recommend any stories for me to read feel free to let me know. I'm in the process of trying to catch up on what I missed, but once I do I'll read whatever you send to me.**

She picked up her phone from off the counter. She couldn't believe that she had left it that morning. She flipped it open to check to see if she had missed any calls or text when she saw a something that made her eyes widen. Embry had called her. Jacob must have given him her number. He had left her a voice mail. She dialed her voice mail as she sat down at the table.

Billy was lying down, Rachel had pleaded with her to cover for her so that she could go see a friend, and Jacob was outside in the garage.

"Hey Hannah, its Embry. Jake gave me your number, so I thought I'd call you. Call me when you get a chance. Bye."

He sounded as nervous as she felt. His voice was a deep rumble, compared to the soft voice that she remembered. She heard the back door open and she looked up.

"Who were you talking to?" Jacob asked coming to the sink to wash his hands.

"I was checking my voice mail." she said closing her phone.

"Have you heard from Rachel?"

"She said something about going to the beach." Hannah said with a shrug.

"Hmm." Jacob said sitting down across from her.

He was content to sit with her in silence. She could have thanked him, but she knew that she didn't need to. He understood how grateful she was that he was willing to set her up with his best friend. Ever since Rachel had found out that morning, she had been acting weird. Hannah was going to have to talk to her about that.

XXXX

Rachel pulled away breathless then Paul silently put his head to hers. They had been meeting like this for over a week. He still hadn't told her that he had imprinted on her. How would she react? He knew that Jacob and Billy had explained things to her. She had even gone to Emily's with Bella the other day. Emily had trouble keeping the secret to herself, so Sam had been there to keep her from telling Rachel.

"You know one day, were going to have to tell my dad. Jake, too." she said, running her fingers through his hair.

"I know. I just wanted us to have a little while to let it sink in."

"I have a question."

"What?"

"What's going to happen when you imprint? I'm not just going to just let you go. I'm probably going to beat the shit out of the girl."

"You don't need to worry about that." Paul mumbled before letting out a throaty laugh.

"This isn't funny! I'm already attached to you. This has never happened before."

"Trust me; it's not going to be a problem." he said, trailing a hand down her arm.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because, I've already found my imprint. I just haven't been able to find the right way to tell her. I'm not like your brother, or Embry, or Sam."

"I don't expect you to be. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not like Bella or Emily either."

"You're my imprint." he said as his eyes met hers.

Rachel stared at him before pushing him off of her. She straddled his lap before taking hold of his hands and putting them behind his back as she leaned down to meet his lips. She kissed him hard, sucking on his bottom lip as he shifted under her. He pulled his hands from hers to wrap his arms around her waist. He pulled her closer to him, almost crushing her.

Paul let out a guttural growl as she ground her hips into his. They heard a twig snap a few yards away, making both of them turn their heads. Hannah stood looking towards the ocean, not wanting to embarrass them.

"Your dad is making Jake and Quil look for you. Come on, unless you want one of them to find you."

"Who is she?"

"The only person who knows about us. Besides Sam and Emily." Rachel said smiling.

"Hannah." Hannah said with a tight lipped smile.

"Your best friend." Paul said with a nod.

"Hannah? Did you find her?" Quil asked from the top of the hill.

Rachel climbed off of Paul after giving him one last quick kiss. He quickly stood, before running in the opposite direction.

"She's down here, like I said." Hannah called as she and Rachel made their way up the hill.

They were home a few minutes later. Billy was in the front yard with Jacob. Hannah and Rachel walked up the ramp before Billy called Hannah's name.

"You left your phone on the counter. It rang while you were gone."

Hannah flipped it open with a sigh.

"I missed Embry again."

"How many times has he called?"

"Twice now." she said dialing his number.

"Wait, hang up." Rachel said, taking the phone from her.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you going to say to him?"

"I don't know." Hannah said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I have a better idea."

"This I have to hear."

"Let's go." Rachel said, grabbing hold of her hand.

XXXX

Bella sat across from Charlie, watching him eat. She had been trying to talk him into going to Billy's for the past twenty minutes. Neither of them had been down there in a week. Since when did her dad need to be coerced into seeing his best friend?

"I know why you want to go down there. You haven't seen Jacob in over a week."

"There is that. But, this is the longest you and Billy have gone without talking."

Truth be told she wanted to check on Quil. She knew he was doing better; Embry had come by that morning to talk to her about it.

"We'll go after lunch. Billy and I can go fishing, and you can get your Jake fix."

"That's all I'm asking for." she said with a laugh.

XXXX

Embry sat behind the counter with his feet propped up on the counter. There hadn't been a single customer in over an hour. He heard the bell above the door jingle, making him pull his feet down. He leaned over the counter seeing Rachel come in. He could see someone on the porch, but couldn't make out who it was.

"You look busy."

"Yeah, I'm swamped." he said rolling his eyes.

"Why don't you go outside? It's not like you won't see anyone that comes in."

"Who's out there?"

"Go and find out." she said, gesturing towards the door with her hand.

He came from around the counter with a sigh. Whoever outside had better be worth it. He pushed open the door, looking down at his feet.

"Hey."

His head shot up so fast that he almost got whiplash. Hannah stared back at him, giving him a curious look. His heart stopped beating for a millisecond as his stomach lurched into his throat. Her hazel eyes gave him the kind, mischievous, inquisitive look that he had always associated with her. Her light brown hair was longer than the last time he had seen her. When his heart rate was back to normal, he smiled at her.

"Hey."

"Do you want to sit down?" she asked from where she was sitting on the steps.

"Yeah." he said, sitting next to her.

Their arms brushed against each other, causing friction to run down the right side of his body.

"How have you been?"

"Good. You?"

"I've been good too. Is it okay that this awkward?" she asked, laughing nervously.

"It wouldn't be normal if it wasn't. We haven't talked since you left for college."

"Well, yeah. You've changed." she said, looking over at him.

"You haven't." he said, shaking his head.

"You look older than I thought you would. Then again, so do Jake and Quil."

"Thanks, I guess." he said with a smile.

"Your smile hasn't changed." she said, smiling back at him.

"Why haven't you called me?"

"Well, I left my phone at the Black's this morning when I went to work. That was the first time. Jake came in as I was about to call you. I didn't feel like playing twenty questions. He can be really intimidating. Then again, you knew that. The second time, I was looking for Rachel. Again, I had left my phone at the house. She thought it would be better if I came here, instead of calling you."

"I'll have to thank her later."

"Me too."

"Hey Em?" Rachel said from inside the store.

"Yeah?"

"Mae Atearra is on the phone. She says if you don't get back in here you're fired."

"How did she know?"

"She can see us." Embry said, waving across the street.

Mae waved back before going back inside the Atearra house. He stood before holding out a hand for her. She took it, letting him pull her close. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Rachel watched from inside, she was glad that she gone with her instincts.

Embry let Hannah go, before looking down at her.

"You should come over after work. We can hang out."

"Actually, I have plans tonight. Do you wanna do something tomorrow night?"

"Embry Call, are you asking me out on a date?" she asked teasing him.

"Yeah." he said, smiling again.

"Sure."

"He'll pick you up at seven." Rachel said from inside.

"Thank you for speaking for me."

Hannah laughed as he let go of her. He went back inside, only to have Rachel stop him at the counter.

"So?" she asked, giving him a questioning look.

"What?" he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Did you imprint on her?"

He smiled, not trusting himself to speak.

"I'm so glad." she said hugging him.

"Yeah, me too." he said with a laugh.

"Just think you don't have to go through the awkward getting to know you stage."

"Thank God." he said under his breath.

"I have to." Rachel said, as her eyes widened in surprise.

"What?" Embry asked, giving her a questioning look.

"Nothing." she said before pulling away.

"Tell me." he said, grabbing hold of her arm.

"You can't tell anyone."

"There are only three people who haven't imprinted yet. And I hope it's not Seth, or Leah."

"Then why do I need to tell you?"

"I didn't even know that you had seen Paul."

"A few days after I moved back in." she said nodding.

"Your brother's not gonna like it."

"It's not up to him. I should go." she said, shrugging her purse onto her arm.

"I'll see you later."

Embry watched as Rachel got into the car. He waved as the car pulled away. He saw Quil pulling up in his driveway as the girls started down the road. He looked towards the store, before Mae walked out of the house. She pointed to the store, and Quil nodded. He ran across the street, and up the stairs as Embry held the door open.

"Did she send you over to check on me?"

"No. She wanted to know who you were talking to."

"You could have told her that."

"I lied. It gave her a reason to send me over. What was she doing here?"

"Rach came up with the bright idea to bring her to see me."

"Yeah? How'd that go?"

"Let me call Jake. I don't wanna tell you and not tell him." he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Hello?" Jacob said, sounding distracted.

"What are you doing?"

"Hanging out with Bella."

"I just thought you'd like to know that something happened."

"What?" Jacob said, sounding worried.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, in the background.

"I imprinted."

"Hallefreakinluiah!" Quil said with a yell.

"On who?" Jacob asked after a moment of silence.

"What's going on?" Bella asked, once she heard Quil yell.

"Embry imprinted." Jacob said with a laugh.

"That's great little brother!" Bella said taking the phone from Jacob.

"I know right?" he said with a laugh.

Bella and Embry along with their hugging ritual had been calling each other sister and brother pretty much since they met. They shared a bond that none of the others did. Neither of them had any biological siblings.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Bella asked, pushing Jacob's hand away when he reached for the phone.

"Her name is Hannah."

"Rachel's friend?" Bella asked as Rachel's car pulled up.

"Out of my lap, come on." Jacob said lifting her.

"I'll talk to you later. I wanna hear about Hannah." Bella said as Jacob walked out the front door.

"You're coming tonight right?"

"I'll be at the bonfire."

"I'll tell you about her then."

"She isn't coming?"

"I haven't had a chance to talk to her about everything."

"Gotcha."

"I better let you go. Quil's destroying the store."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Rachel came in as Bella closed Jacob's phone. She walked into the kitchen without saying a word. Bella saw Jacob and Hannah sitting on the hood of the Rabbit, deep in conversation. Rachel came back into the living room and sat down next to Bella.

"My brother is crazy about you. Becca and I noticed it when we were kids."

"What?"

"We used to tease him, relentlessly. I knew it would only be a matter of time before he realized that we were right."

"You and Rebecca used to tease him because you thought that we would eventually date?"

"We didn't think, we knew. We never made it easy on him. Our mom would always get onto us about it. She used to say that she would love to have you as a daughter in law. Now, she'll never get to see it happen." Rachel said sadly.

She swiped at her eyes slowly as she sniffled. Bella didn't know what to say that would make it easier. Bella didn't remember much about Sarah Black. She did remember that she had been a good mother to her kids, and a good wife to Billy.

Jacob walked in seeing Rachel crying, and Bella watching her with sad eyes. He would ask about it later. He could only deal with issue at a time. Right now, he needed to call Sam and get him to meet him at the store.

"I have to go. But I'll see the two of you later." he said hugging Bella.

He put a hand on Rachel's shoulder as she pulled herself together.

"So Hannah Banana, what are you doing tonight?" Rachel asked breaking the silence.

"Making up my resume. Then hopefully filling out job applications on line."

"What are you hoping to do?" Bella asked, joining the conversation.

"I want to be a teacher."

"She's great with kids." Rachel said nodding.

"That's really nice." Bella said with a smile.

"What are you two doing tonight?"

"We are going to the bonfire."

"I'll put in a good word for you. Because you'll more than likely be coming with us next month." Rachel said patting Hannah's arm.

"You guys have a bonfire every month?"

"The first Saturday of every month." Rachel said with a nod.

"Have you ever been before?"

"No. I've been busy the past few months. Now that I'm done with school for the time being, I told Jake that I would go."

"You're not starting college in the fall?"

"I am going to go. I'm just putting it off for a year."

"How does you dad feel about that?"

"He wasn't happy at first. I had made the decision before Jake and I started dating. I need a year off from school."

"I'm glad that I am done." Hannah said with a laugh.

"Oh shut up, Miss High and Mighty." Rachel said throwing a pillow at her.

"Was I the one who told you that you should become a doctor? No!" Hannah said throwing the pillow back at her.

Bella watched the two friends interact. She was glad that Embry had finally found someone, and also glad that she could get to see a different side of Jacob, that only his sister could bring out. His argumentative side, he never argued with anyone the way he argued with Rachel. She personally thought that it was funny. He didn't.

XXXX

Bella pushed Billy's chair into the clearing as she saw the fire in the distance. Rachel made her way up the incline to get someone to help carry Billy's chair up.

"You nervous?" he asked, turning his head to look up at her.

"Should I be?" she asked, giving him a smart alike, questioning look.

"No. Most girls would be though."

"I'm not like most girls."

"Thank God for that!" Billy whooped before laughing.

Paul and Jacob made their way down the incline with Rachel behind them. Paul picked up the chair from the front as Jacob picked it up by the handles. Rachel linked arms with Bella silently as the five of them made their way up to the bonfire. Bella heard a group of people talking at once, all of them male voices. It must have been the elders and the pack. At the top of hill Paul let go, and Jacob gripped the chair with everything he had before giving Paul a venomous look.

"You need help getting him through the grass? Why didn't you say so?" Paul asked, giving Jacob a smart ass smile.

"Easy Jacob." Billy said, giving Paul a reprimanding look.

Billy was sitting in front of fire while Jacob and Bella stood off to the side. He stood behind her, with his arms wrapped around her. His chin rested on her shoulder when a sudden jolt rocked through them.

"What the..." Bella said turning to look behind Jacob.

A young teenager stood behind them giving Bella a wide grin. She knew that smile.

"Seth!" she said glaring at him.

"Hey Bella!" he said, still smiling.

"Wipe the smile off your face. " Jacob said with a laugh.

"I've always wanted to do that."

"What? Scare the living daylights out of me?" Bella asked letting go of Jacob.

"Uh oh. You don't know what you just did Clearwater." Embry called from across the field.

"I was only playing! And no, I didn't mean to scare you. He has been able to knock me off my feet, just by shoving me, since I was six."

"Yeah, well you didn't succeed." Bella said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I wasn't trying! I didn't wanna knock you over."

"When did you get so big? I only saw you a month ago!" she said, taking in his size.

"I'm going through changes." he said with a laugh.

"No." she said, giving him a scared look.

"Yeah."

She looked pleadingly at Jacob, hoping that he would tell her that Seth was joking.

"It happened last weekend." he said with a serious tone.

"Leah too."

"Oh God." Bella said, trying to catch her breath.

Jacob was next to her, with his arms over her shoulders a second later. Seth looked between them worriedly. Jacob shook his head, letting him know not to say anything else. Seth walked away after smiling weakly at Bella.

"That's three in two weeks." Bella said just above a whisper.

"There are vampires planning to attack Forks. Did you think that the five of us could take them alone?" Jacob asked tightening his hold on her.

"I hoped that no one else would have to change."

"It's going to be okay." he said before kissing her forehead.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because, I have faith that we can do this. One day, you and I are going to look back on this and it's going to be just a memory. All the fear, the stress, everything is going to be gone."

"Leah's a wolf too?"

"The first female. And she never lets the rest of us forget it. She is one angry, bitter she wolf."

"Are you going to hog her all night?" Quil asked from a few feet away.

"I had planned on it." Jacob said with a laugh.

Bella hadn't seen Quil since he had changed. Jacob had explained to her, that every new wolf needed time to adjust to things. During the adjustment period, they were not allowed around humans. Why was Seth allowed to come tonight? Or Leah for that matter? Quil on the other hand, looked like he was ready to pry Jacob away from her with his bare hands. In a friendly manner, of course.

"Hey stranger." Bella said giving him a smile.

"Hey!" Quil said happily.

"Seeing as hugging her is out of the question, I guess I'll let you talk to her." Jacob said, before pulling away from her.

"Huh?"

"Read Embry's mind every once in a while. You'll get it." he said, patting Quil on the shoulder.

"What is he talking about?" Quil asked as Jacob walked away.

"Ask Embry. Let's just say that he'd get jealous."

"Has he staked a claim on you if you and Jake don't work out? Damn it, I wanted to do that!"

Bella threw her head back in laughter as Quil draped an arm over her shoulders loosely. He steered her towards the elders where Seth and Leah sat with their mom.

"Bella, it's good to see you." Sue said with a smile.

"You too Mrs..."

"Sue. You've never called me Mrs. Clearwater. Don't you start now." she said giving Bella a playful wink.

"Hey Leah."

"Hi." Leah said, not looking away from where Sam and Emily sat.

"Seth, you should apologize for what you did earlier."

"Sorry, Bella." he said, looking at his feet.

"Don't worry about. It's already forgotten." she said ruffling his hair.

He grinned up at her as Embry walked up to them. He engulfed Bella in a hug from behind. She put her hands over his, giving them a small squeeze.

"Hey you." he said, smiling down at her.

"Hey."

"Now I get it." Quil said rolling his eyes.

"Sorry." Bella said with a laugh.

"Yeah, back off." Embry said protectively.

"Please, I can take you."

"Okay, children. That's enough." Bella said in mock aggravation.

"I wanted to talk to you." Embry said getting her attention again.

"Okay." she said nodding.

He let go of her as they walked side by side towards the tree line. He told her everything, he didn't hold anything back. He was scared for Hannah and what could possibly happen if he wasn't able to reign in his anger when they fought.

"Sweetie, I know what you mean. But, you have to forget all of that. No relationship is perfect. And about the anger issue, learn to walk away. Or give her some kind of warning that lets her know that it's about to happen. That's what Jake and I do."

"He said the same thing."

"Well, it's good that we agree on something. I knew that I was with him for a reason." she said sarcastically.

Embry laughed, as he shook his head. They walked back to the bonfire seeing everyone starting to sit around it. Jacob sat, leaning against a log that was occupied by Quil and Claire, who sat in his lap.

"Who's the little girl?"

"That's Claire."

"I didn't think Quil had another little sister."

"Just Ayanna. Claire is Quil's imprint."

"They can be that young?"

"I guess so." he said with a shrug.

He sat on the other side of Jacob while Bella got situated in between Jacob's legs.

"Pretty." Claire said touching Bella's hair.

"Thank you." Bella said giving the little girl a warm smile.

She was a cute little girl. Bella had never been around little kids. Charlie, like her was an only child. Her mom's brother and sister were closer to Bella's age, than her own. So she didn't have any cousins. Jacob wrapped his arms around her as his dad started to speak. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Tonight, I feel that it is appropriate that we tell the stories of our ancestors. And the predators that we will once again have to fight off to save not only our families, but our land."

Bella listened to him intently. She had heard about the Cullen's from Jacob. But the story that Billy was telling went farther back than that. To a female vampire, who took out almost the entire village in a matter of days. It was a haunting, heart wrenching story. He spoke of how the first pack of wolves fought the woman off, only to have her come back, a hundred years later. One woman had sacrificed her life for her husbands. She was what Billy called the third wife. She had done something no one else would do. She had taken the attention off of her dead son and grieving husband, so that the other men could attack the woman. They had killed her that day. The Cullen's did not appear for the first time until a hundred years later. Starting the cycle again.

"My son, and his friends are willing to do everything they can to protect not only us, but the life of someone very special to each of them, and me as well." Billy said gesturing towards Bella.

Jacob tightened his hold on Bella before Bella smiled sadly at Billy. She hadn't expected Billy to say what he had. It made a piece of the shame that she felt for all that was happening fall away.

XXXX

Bella was washing dishes when the front door opened and closed silently. She looked over her shoulder as she rinsed off a plate, seeing Jacob taking off his shoes in the front hall. She had no idea that he was coming over since he had called to say that he had plans with Embry and Quil. He wrapped his arms around her silently before kissing behind her ear.

"Did your bromance date fall through?"

"I ditched them to hang out with someone who is definitely hotter than they are." he murmured into her hair.

"I would hope that you think I'm hotter than Embry and Quil."

"What did you do today?"

"I thought about you, and then I cleaned the house to fill the other six hours and fifty nine minutes of my day." she said with a teasing smile.

"Ha, ha." he said digging his fingers into her sides.

She giggled before squirming. She turned in his arms to wrap her arms around his neck. Something in his shirt pocket poked her shoulder and she pulled away to give him a questioning look.

"It's your graduation present."

"I told you that you didn't have to get me anything."

"I didn't spend any money on it." he said pulling the small object out of his pocket.

He closed his fist around it before she could see what it was.

"Close your eyes." he said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes, but did as he asked. He pulled her left arm from around his neck and she felt something wrap around her wrist seconds later.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"Go ahead."

Her eyes moved to her wrist where a two toned brown leather chord bracelet was now resting. The different shades of brown matched her hair and eyes. She looked up at him with questioning eyes.

"It's tradition in my tribe that when you find the person that you love that you make them a bracelet. It's kind of like a promise ring."

"I love it." she said kissing him lightly.

Jacob rarely ever showed his sentimental side. She would wear the bracelet proudly and tell anyone who asked that he had made it for her and the meaning behind it. She couldn't love him anymore than she did right then.


	5. Facing Their Fears

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

Jacob ran through the forest in his wolf form. He was supposed to be on patrol, but all he could think of was Bella. She had been spending a lot of time with the Cullen's lately. She wanted to spend as much time with them as possible because she didn't know how long she would have with them. He didn't argue with her because he knew that seeing them made her happy.

Edward hadn't stopped trying to lure her back under his spell. She had told him repeatedly that she didn't see him in a romantic way, but he wouldn't listen. If he didn't back off Jacob was going to step in and make him leave her alone.

_You're driving me crazy. Stop thinking about her._ Leah's voice called through his thoughts.

_Then get out of my head._ Jacob answered with a growl.

_Just go and see her, I'll cover for you._ Embry said with a sigh.

_You'll understand when you imprint Leah__._ Jacob said before phasing.

He ran the three miles to her house to find that Charlie wasn't home. He grabbed the spare key from above the door and let himself in. The house was quiet as he made his way up the stairs. He avoided the creaky stair mentally telling himself to fix it soon. He stopped outside her door, listening for any sound. When he didn't hear anything he opened the door slowly.

Bella was asleep with her body turned towards him and the moon cast its glow upon her sleeping form. He crossed the room with a muted sigh and knelt down to her level. He brushed his fingers down her arm gently before she sighed in her sleep.

"Wake up." he said gently.

She groaned before stretching. She moved over to give him room and he lay on top of the covers next to her.

"What are you doing here? I thought that you had to run patrol with Leah and Embry tonight."

"Embry is covering both of our watches tonight."

"That doesn't explain why you're here." she said as she turned on her side to face him.

"We need to talk." he said taking her closest hand in his.

"Why do I get the feeling that I might not like what you're going to say?"

"You might, or you might not. The way you take it is up to you."

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Edward honestly thinks that he has a chance with you."

"I've told him that he doesn't."

"I've been inside his head. He isn't listening to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's going in one ear and out the other."

"You two are more alike than I thought." she said with a groan.

"I am nothing like him." he said in a condescending tone.

"I had the same conversation that I am having with you while he and I were together. Only we were talking about you."

"You and I were friends before he came into the picture, that's different."

"And he still cares for me, there's nothing I can do about it."

"You could stop leading him on." Jacob muttered.

"He said that I was leading you on too."

"He did?"

"Did you have feelings for me then?"

"I didn't feel anything other than friendship and a very strong obligation to protect you from him. My real feelings for you came after he left."

"Before you imprinted on me?"

"We spent so much time together that I started to see you in a different light. I don't think that it was love. I was infatuated with you."

"Thank you." she said with a laugh.

"Do you swear that you don't have any feelings for him?"

"All of my feelings for him left when you imprinted on me. We are just friends, and I am going to point it out the next time I see him, for the second time."

He pulled her to him before draping an arm over her hips. She put her forehead to his before giving him a questioning look.

"You don't believe me?"

"I do, but I don't trust him. He isn't the most rational person we know."

"You aren't rational sometimes either."

"But I'm not crazy, he is."

"He's senile, get it right."

"Either way the guy needs a strait jacket."

"Maybe it would help if I talked to Carlisle."

"You mean we." he corrected her.

"We'll go over there tomorrow."

"Maybe you shouldn't go over there so much. That might help things."

"Are you telling me that I can't see them?"

"No, just have them come over here. Just until things change."

"I'll think about it."

He tightened his grip on her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her forehead before closing his eyes. She placed her head in the crook of his shoulder before sighing. They were asleep within seconds.

XXXX

Embry stood on Jacob's porch hearing Coldplay filtering through the open windows. He knew that she was the only one there. Jacob and Billy were at Bella's and he had seen Rachel's car parked outside Paul's house when he walked by. The door opened as he stared down at his feet. His eyes swept over her body, starting with her legs. Hannah may have been short, but she had amazing legs. His eyes met hers, and he thanked God for his nerves of steel. He stared at her boldly as she stared back with her arms folded over her chest.

She was wearing a tight fitting tank top and short shorts. Apparently Jacob hadn't told her that he was coming over like he had asked him to.

"Hi." she said almost inaudibly.

"Hey." he said, still staring at her.

"Jake isn't here. He's at Bella's."

"I know. I called him earlier and asked him to call you to tell you that I was coming over. I lost your number."

"You couldn't call the house?" she asked with a shy laugh.

"I didn't think about that." he said as he scratched the back of his head.

"It's a good thing I'm not doing anything important." she said in a teasing manner.

"What are you doing?"

"I was studying for my teacher's exam. I just finished."

She opened the door and he passed her to walk into the house. He walked into the living room while she walked back to the bedroom to turn off the music. He heard her in the kitchen a minute later before she came into the living room. She handed him bottled water before sitting next to him with her body turned to face him.

"Why did you come over?" she asked giving him a curious look.

"Something happened and I need to talk to you about it."

"Something happened to you, and it concerns me?" she said giving him an unsure look.

"It concerns the both of us. What I'm going to tell you isn't going to be easy for me to say, so just bear with me." he said nervously running his fingers through his hair.

"Okay." she said with a nod.

He unloaded the whole story of the tribe on her first.

"I already knew that. I learned about that when I was in the eleventh grade. What does it have to do with me?"

"It's not just a legend. It's true."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" she asked giving him a credulous look.

His hand encircled her wrist and a wave of heat spread through her hand so hot that she had to jerk away from him.

"Have you had that reaction to Jake?" he asked.

"He hugged me the other night. I had a red whelp on my arm from where his arm had been for half an hour afterwards." she said in concern.

"It doesn't happen all the time, just when were nervous, anxious, or worried. Our body reacts to the change and our temperature rises."

"So Jake is a wolf too?"

"Yes." he said with a nod.

"I still don't see how this has anything to do with me."

"I'm getting to that. I thought that it would be easier if you knew what I was first."

He started at the beginning with the story of the third wife. He thought that it would be easier to ease her into the topic of her being his imprint. Sometime in the ten minutes it took to explain she had started to cry. He had stopped to ask her if she was alright but she had urged him on. She would quickly brush the tears away with a shake of her head.

"So what you're saying is that I'm your mate?" she said slowly.

"I didn't tell you to upset you." he said quietly.

"What would happen if I said that I didn't want to be with you?"

"I'd be hurt for one thing, but I would still be your friend."

"What else would happen?"

"I wouldn't carry on the gene so that my kids could join the pack."

"I'm the only one that can do that?"

"That's what I meant when I said that you're my genetic match. Are you sure that you're okay?" he asked touching her arm.

She pulled away quickly clutching her arm.

"Sorry." he said quickly.

"It's fine. I need to be alone." she said giving him a scared look.

"Okay." he said standing.

"I'm not saying no. I just need to think." she said with a sigh.

"I'll see you around." he said as he walked to the door.

The door closed silently behind him. Hannah's body shook uncontrollably as sobs racked through her. She was scared and she was being selfish, and she knew it. What hurt even more was that she had hurt Embry. She had never thought of him in any way other than friendship until a few days ago. When she had seen him the other day it was like a veil had been lifted from her eyes and she saw the person that he was on the inside.

He had laid everything he had on the line and she had pushed him away. She had tried so hard not to become like her mother and that was exactly what was happening. She didn't want to be bitter and resentful. Her mother had succeeded in pushing her father away a few years ago after Hannah had left to go to college. Her mother claimed that he had left on his own but Hannah knew that her mother was more than a little neurotic and had pushed her father too far.

Her brother still had another year of living at home before he would leave for college. Hannah had promised that she would come home and help him make it through the next year without complaint. So far she had been at the Blacks for the past three weeks that she had been home. She would come home when she knew her mother wasn't there. Ryan needed her and she was choosing to avoid the problem the way their father had.

The door opened half an hour later and Rachel came in to find Hannah at the kitchen table hunched over a quart of ice cream.

"I'm not used to seeing anyone but Jake do that. You can't use a bowl?"

"No." Hannah said with a sniffle.

Rachel turned on her heels to take in Hannah's demeanor. Her eyes were red and puffy and her mascara was smeared so that she looked like a raccoon.

"Did you talk to your mom?"

"No."

"Did something happen to Ryan or Jasmine?"

Hannah shook her head as she spooned another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"Who's ass do I have to kick?"

"Mine." Hannah said as she laid her head on the table.

"What is going on?"

"Did you know that Jake is a werewolf?"

"No he's not." Rachel said with a scoff.

"Are you Paul's imprint?" Hannah accused.

"Who told you?"

"Are you?" Hannah asked ignoring her last question.

"Yes, I'm Paul's imprint."

"You couldn't tell me?"

"Would you have believed me?"

"I might have." Hannah said as she lifted her head to tilt her chin in challenge.

"How did you find out? Did Jake phase for you?"

"Phase?"

"Did Jake turn into a wolf for you?"

"No one turned into a wolf for me."

"Then how do you know?"

"Embry told me." she said as more tears fell.

"Why would he do that?"

"I'm his imprint. I hurt him." she wailed.

"Sweetie that's great. Not that you hurt Em, but that you're his imprint."

"How is that great? I am not relationship material."

"Just because your mom isn't doesn't mean that you aren't. You have been in a relationship before."

"Yeah, look how great that turned out."

"That was one time out of how many?"

"Three."

"Two out of three isn't bad. You have got to stop thinking that you are going to turn into your mom. I know that you won't."

"How do you know?"

"You are nothing like her. You are strong and level headed."

"I really hurt him."

"What did you do?"

"I shut him out. Then I asked him to leave when all he was trying to do was comfort me."

"Hannah, that was very stupid." Rachel admonished.

"I know." Hannah said as she buried her face in her hands.

"Stop crying, and go clean your face."

"Why?" she asked lowering her hands from her face.

"I think it's time you met Emily Warren."

"Who?"

"Sam's fiancée, she can explain what being an imprint means better than I can."

"I don't want to." Hannah said with a shake of her head.

"Either we go over there or she comes over here. Take your pick."

"Call and ask her to come over here."

"Sure."

"Do you really think that I'm not like my mom?"

"Absolutely. You might be a little unsure of yourself, but that isn't anything that a healthy relationship won't fix." Rachel said as she wrapped her arms around her from behind.

"I'm going to go wash my face." Hannah said squeezing Rachel's arms.

When Hannah came out of the bathroom five minutes later Rachel was opening the front door. Hannah stood in the hall while Rachel let Emily in. The first thing that Hannah noticed was that Emily was beautiful. When Emily turned to face her she saw the scars that lined the right side of her face. Hannah quickly fixed her gaze on Emily's eyes as Emily watched her curiously.

"Who is this?" Emily asked with a smile.

"This is my best friend Hannah. Hannah, this is Emily."

"Hi." Emily said with a smile.

"Hi." Hannah said quietly.

"I'm sorry that I didn't go into detail on the phone. I wasn't sure if anyone would overhear on your end."

"That's fine. All the boys are at my house. Something happened with Embry, and Sam and Quil are trying to talk to him about it."

"Oh God." Hannah said as she clenched her eyes shut.

"Do you have something to do with what's wrong with Embry?" Emily asked.

"She didn't mean to hurt him. She had a panic attack."

"A panic attack?"

"She thinks she's turning into her mother, which would be bad."

"What exactly happened?"

"He told me that I was his imprint." Hannah said as her voice shook.

"Don't start crying again H. Suck it up." Rachel said pulling her into the kitchen.

Hannah sat in the seat that she had been sitting in less than ten minutes before. Emily sat next to her while Rachel sat across from her.

"Rachel could Hannah and I talk privately?"

Rachel looked at Hannah for an answer. Hannah nodded as she looked down at her hands. Rachel stood from the table and walked down the hall to her and Hannah's room.

"How long have you known Rachel?"

"Since we were five, we went to school together."

"You went to school in La Push? Do you live on the reservation?"

"My father is the school superintendent for the area, so my brothers, sister, and I had the option of going to school here."

"So you've known the Blacks for a very long time."

"Mm hmm." Hannah said as she picked at a tear in the plastic table cloth.

"I assume you've known Embry for a while as well."

"Ever since he was eight."

"Hannah you know what kind of person he is. You know that he won't hurt you." Emily said placing a hand over Hannah's.

"I know. I wasn't myself earlier."

"So having a panic attack isn't a regular occurrence?"

"It's the first one I've ever had." Hannah said with a nod.

"I can tell you right now, there are worse things that could happen than having Embry Call imprint on you."

"Like what?"

"You could be your cousins ex-boyfriends imprint."

"The guy who imprinted on you dated your cousin?"

"Leah was also my best friend."

"Leah Clearwater?" Hannah asked as her eyes grew as big as saucers.

"You know her?"

"She made my life a living hell while we were in school."

"Leah has always taken pleasure in torturing people that she thinks are weaker than her."

"She had me all wrong. She learned that the hard way. Being only one of a handful of white students at our school made me a moving target."

"I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you."

"I handled it better than my brother has."

"Your brother is still in school?"

"He'll be a senior this year."

"Let's talk about what being an imprint means. You probably have a lot of questions."

"Not really. Embry explained everything."

"He's a very open and honest person isn't he?"

"He's been like that for as long as I've known him."

"I haven't known him for very long, but he is one of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met."

"He is nice. He's too nice sometimes." Hannah laughed.

"Do you feel anything for him at all?"

"It was the strangest thing, when I saw him the other day it was like I was seeing him for the first time."

"You noticed things about him that you hadn't noticed before?"

"Yeah." Hannah said with a nod.

"That's what happens when you are imprinted on, you feel a pull towards each other."

"I didn't tell him that I felt it." Hannah said sadly.

"You'll get a chance to tell him. I have a feeling that he will forgive you."

"It's going to be awkward when I see him again."

"Only if you make it that way, don't dwell on it. He wouldn't want you to beat yourself up."

Rachel came back into the room and Hannah pulled her to her. Rachel looked down at her, giving her a concerned look. Hannah gave her a reassuring smile and Rachel squeezed her arm gently. Things had been changing so fast since she came home from college. Rachel was involved in her first serious relationship. Jacob and the boys had grown up and she had missed all of it. Ryan and her sister Jasmine had needed her at home when she had time off from school so the only time she had seen Rachel or Jacob had been when they came to the house.

Things were slowing down and her head was still spinning. Little did she know that things hadn't slowed down at all, her life was just beginning and she had yet to realize it.


	6. Placing the Blame on the Wrong Person

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. **

Edward stood in front of Jacob with his arms folded across his chest. Jacob wanted to punch the condescending smirk off of his hard as stone face, but Bella was standing next to him with a hand on his arm to keep him calm. It was amazing how the smallest of gestures from her could calm him down.

"I knew that you would ask for help eventually. We have a plan." Edward said, still smiling.

"What kind of plan?" Jacob asked with a quizzical look.

"Jasper has fought newborns before. He knows how to dispose of them. He is willing to teach us."

"When can we start?"

"It is best for us to work at night."

"The wolves usually run patrol at night." Bella said calmly.

"We'll work it out." Jacob said as his lips formed a straight line.

Edward nodded before looking at Bella's hand still on Jacob's arm. She had never touched him like that. He would never have let her. Jacob wasn't as cautious as he was, he knew that for sure. There was always that risk that he would lash out at her. Bella had to see that. Edward would have to try harder to get her to see his side of things.

"What time should we meet tonight?" Jacob asked giving him an even look.

He had been listening and heard what he had been thinking about.

"Nine, there's a clearing in the mountains. It's surrounded mountains on three sides and a waterfall on the other."

"I know where it is." Jacob said with a nod.

Edward looked at Bella with a hurt look.

"It's where they have pack meetings." she said quietly.

"Don't be late." Edward said before turning and walking quickly back to his car.

Bella pulled her hand away from Jacob and he looked down at her giving her a questioning look.

"What?"

"What was that look that he gave you for?"

"The clearing is where we first met Victoria."

"That's why you won't go there with me." Jacob said in understanding.

"I haven't felt comfortable going there. But since it would be for a good cause I would be willing to go tonight."

"I don't want you coming with me." he said with a shake of his head.

"Are you telling me that I can't come?"

"No, I'm asking you. Bella please, just this once, don't be stubborn."

"I'm going to go inside. I'll see you later." she said walking away from him.

"I'll come by afterwards to tell you what happened."

She nodded as she walked up the pathway leading to the stairs.

"Bells?" he called.

She paused at the bottom step to look over her shoulder at him. He had worry etched across his face.

"I love you." he said with a small smile.

"I love you too." she said with a reassuring smile.

He nodded before turning to run home. She knew that if she were close to him he would more than likely have burned her. It had happened more than once since the Cullen's came back. She really needed to talk to Edward.

XXXX

The clearing was filled with artificial light from the headlights of Emmett's Jeep and Edward and Jasper's cars. The pack came through the clearing in wolf form to see the Cullen's near the far corner of the clearing with their backs to them. Jasper turned first and walked towards them. He stopped in front of Sam with a kind smile.

"Thank you for coming tonight. I know that we all want to be rid of the problem that we are having right now. Not for our sakes, but Bella's. She is an innocent bystander who should not have to be going through this. It's good that you came in wolf form, that will be the best way that you can defend yourselves and ward off advances from the newborns." Jasper said calmly.

"Edward, would you translate for us?" Carlisle asked as he joined Jasper.

"The dark gray one is very hostile. He says that he doesn't want to be here."

_He has a name. _ Jacob said with a growl.

_Easy, Jacob. _ Sam said in a calm voice.

"Do you mean Paul? Carlisle asked.

"Yes." Edward said with a nod.

"Maybe I could work with him first. That way he can leave if he chooses." Jasper said looking at Paul.

"He says that is fine."

"I'm going to need you over by the trees Paul. I'm going to come at you, but I don't want you to actually kill me. I'm going to talk you through it."

"He says he's not an idiot."

"Sorry. I didn't think that you were." Jasper said patting Paul's head with a light laugh.

Paul immediately moved away from him.

_Who does he think he is? _Paul asked.

_Keep your thoughts to yourself for right now Paul. _ Sam thought.

_Don't you have somewhere you need to be?_ Jacob asked Edward.

_We would like to be alone for right now Edward. We have stratagy of our own to discuss. _Sam said politely.

_That is the correct way to ask someone to leave. You could learn a lot from him Jacob._ Edward said with a sneer.

Jacob's hair stood on end as a growl came from deep in his throat. He moved to leap at Edward and Sam stepped in front of him.

_Attacking him is not the answer Jacob. _Sam said calmly.

_I am not going to let him get away with that._

_Be the bigger man and walk away._ Sam said sternly.

_You had better do what he says._ Edward thought as he folded his arms over his chest.

_Not before I knock that grin off your face. _Jacob thought as he moved to walk around Sam.

"We have a guest." Alice said brightly.

Edward searched her thoughts and immediately hung his head in dismay. Jacob growled when Edward sent the vision to him. Seconds later Bella came out of the trees on the other side of the clearing. Jacob crossed the clearing, the way his body was tense and his hair stood on end let Bella know that he wasn't happy. He nudged for her to go back the way she had come and she shook her head defiantly.

"I want to be here. I am not about to let all of you put yourselves in danger while I sit around and do nothing."

"It wouldn't hurt just to let her watch Jacob." Esme said as she crossed the last few feet to stand with them.

"I intend to do more than that."

"Do you mean that you want to fight with us?"

"Yes I do."

Jacob shook his head violently and a few seconds later Edward was at Esme's other side.

"Yes Jacob, I am."

"He's right, it isn't a good idea."

"What is he saying?"

"He doesn't want you being put in harm's way. What if something happened to you? All of us would feel guilty Bella."

"If I learned to defend myself nothing would happen to me."

"You can't help us, you would get killed." Esme said calmly.

A wave of calm washed over Bella before she knew what was going on.

"Bella, it is very admirable that you want to help us, but you have no idea what you are saying. There is no way that you would be able to help us. You don't have the strength that we do." Jasper said before putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Fine." she said with a sigh.

"Jacob, why don't you and Bella go and sit down until Jasper needs you?" Esme said kindly.

Bella followed behind Jacob until they reached the boulders surrounding the waterfall. She sat on one and he sat at least ten feet away with his head resting on his front paws. She looked at him sadly wishing that they could talk.

"Jacob?" she said over the roar of the water.

He ignored her.

"Jake?" she asked with a sigh.

Still no answer. She slid off the boulder to sit a few feet away from him.

"I wish I knew what you were thinking. I can guess that you're mad at me. It doesn't take a genius to see that. I'm not sorry for not listening to you. I may not be able to help, but I am safer here than I am anywhere else."

Jacob looked over at her with sad eyes. She stood to walk the last few feet to him. She sat next to him and his head was in her lap before she could get situated. Her fingers threaded into his fur and he leaned into the touch. He licked her arm gently and she smiled down at him.

"I love you too." she said as she hugged him.

His head slid out of her lap and he moved to lie on back down. She lay on her side with her head resting on his stomach. She ran her fingers through his fur lazily and he let out a sigh of contentment. Neither of them heard someone walk up to them.

"Jasper needs Jacob." Rosalie said quietly.

Bella reluctantly sat up and Jacob stood to walk the short distance to where Jasper stood.

"You don't need to sit on the ground. You could have stayed on the boulder." Rosalie said.

"We needed to work things out."

"Do you always have to go to him to work things out?"

"I was the one who was wrong."

"You both were. He should have met you half way."

"Why are we talking about this? It isn't your business."

"I am just giving you advice. You shouldn't be so subservient to him."

"I am not subservient."

"Rosalie, just because Emmett worships the ground you walk on and is always the first one to apologize doesn't mean that everyone should be that way." Esme said in an admonishing tone.

"I was just giving her some free advice. She can take it or leave it." Rosalie said with a shrug of her shoulders before walking away.

"She doesn't know what she's talking about Bella. You were right to do what you did. Especially since Jacob couldn't communicate with you the way he wanted to. I'm glad that the two of you worked out your differences."

"I am too."

"I think I know the real reason why you wanted to fight with us."

"You do?"

"You feel like everything that is happening is your fault."

Bella looked down at her feet in shame. She hadn't realized that anyone had noticed that she felt that way.

"Sweetheart, none of this is your fault. This is Victoria's fault."

"She wouldn't be here if her clan hadn't found me and James hadn't tracked me down."

"Yes she would. She wants revenge because Edward killed her mate. So she wants to kill his mate."

"But I am not his mate. We aren't even together anymore."

"That may be, but she knows that it will be a devastating blow to Edward if you died."

Jacob came to stand in between them in human form and took Bella's hand.

"I thought that Jasper needed you."

"I'm going to the Cullen's tomorrow to have a private lesson. Are you ready to leave?"

She nodded her head and Esme put a hand on her free wrist to stop her.

"Remember what I said." she said with a smile.

"I will."

They were at her house when Jacob finally let go of her hand.

"She was right." he said breaking the silence.

"Who was?" she asked as she turned off the truck.

"Esme, I should have told you that sooner."

"I feel useless."

"You're doing everything that you can."

"Which is nothing."

"You're lying low and making the packs job easier. I rest easier at night knowing that you are safe."

"I wish that there was more that I could do."

"You could be more grateful." he said as they walked into the house.

She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned up as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Their lips met in a fierce kiss that had her begging him for entrance. His hands fisted in her hair as her tongue passed his lips. She tightened her grip on him and he picked her up to carry her towards the stairs. She wrapped her legs around his waist to keep from falling as he made his way upstairs.

In her room he placed her gently on the bed before lying on top of her. His weight rested on his arms until she pulled him to her. He bit back a groan as she pushed up the back of his shirt to let her hands roam over his skin. His hands pushed up her shirt to cup her breast through her bra. She pulled away gasping for breath. He moved his hands down to her stomach to follow the lines of her ribs.

"You're welcome." he said with a grin.

She shook her head with a grin of her own.

"Just don't thank anyone else like that."

"I'll save that just for you."

He rolled off of her but kept one of his hands on her stomach. She turned her head to look at him with a content smile. She didn't miss the look of adoration that he gave her before he closed his eyes. His soft snoring filled the room a few minutes later. She turned on her side and his hand slid over her back in his sleep. She got as close to him as she could and soon fell asleep herself. All of her worries and fears could be put off until tomorrow. Right now she had everything that she needed.


	7. It's Like an Angel Came By

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I also don't own the title for this chapter. I borrowed it from a Justin Bieber song. The song is called Never Let You Go. Yes, I am thirty-two and I like Justin Bieber's music. That doesn't mean that I would go to jail for him. I don't think he's that cute, Selena Gomez can have him.**

He stood over her watching her as she slept. He could think of numerous reasons why he shouldn't be here. Jacob was at the top of his list right after the fact that he didn't have a right to be here because she was with someone else.

He reached out tentatively to touch her arm with a feather light touch. She turned away from him in her sleep. He placed his hand on her shoulder and he immediately felt her tense beneath him.

"I am giving you three seconds to get your hand off of me before I scream." she said in a tense voice.

"Please don't." he said quickly.

"Two seconds." she warned.

He pulled his hand away with a sigh.

"How did you know that it was me?"

"We were together for seven months. Did you think that I wouldn't recognize the touch of your hand?" she asked as she turned to lie on her back.

"You and I need to talk."

"It can't wait until tomorrow? I have to be at work at seven."

"Every time I talk to you someone else is with you."

What he had said was true. She made it a point to never be alone with him for longer than a few minutes. The Cullen's and Jacob had been reluctant to leave her alone with him. He wasn't himself and no one knew what was going on.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" she asked with a sigh.

"I want you to consider giving me another chance."

"You know that I can't." she said giving him a stern look.

"How long have you been with Jacob?"

"Three months."

"You can't possibly feel anything for him, not that soon."

"Yes, I do."

"Do you love him the way that you love me?"

"I don't love you anymore." she said with a sigh.

"So you're throwing our entire relationship out the window because I made one mistake?"

"It wasn't a mistake. If we hadn't broken up then, it would have eventually happened."

"Why? You are my mate; doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"I am going to tell you something, and when I do I am not saying it to hurt your feelings."

"Alright."

"I may be your soul mate, but you are not mine."

"And Jacob is?"

"Yes. There are things that you don't understand."

"Then explain them to me." he said calmly.

"I am Jacob's genetic match. We are together so that he can pass the legacy of the pack on to the next generation."

"Is that the only reason that you are with him?"

"No, it isn't. I realized something while you were gone. My life doesn't revolve around you. There are more things in life than being with you. I want more than you can give me."

"You want to be human."

"Yes, Jacob makes me feel alive. Not that you didn't, but there are things that you can't do that he can."

"He can give you a normal life."

"As normal as life can be with him. He is wonderful; he treats me like an equal."

"I never meant to control you. I was trying to protect you."

"There are other ways of doing that. You didn't protect me, you smothered me. I tried to talk to you about it, but you never listened."

"What else does he do that I didn't?"

"I don't want to get into this with you right now, or ever. I've already told you too much."

"Do you know how much you are hurting me?"

"I can't help the way that I feel."

"When a vampire mates, we mate for life. I will never feel this way about anyone else."

"I'm sorry." she said quietly.

There was a noise outside and Edward went to window to look down. He shook his head before pushing away from the window.

"Who is it?" Bella asked.

"It's me." Jacob said as he climbed through the window.

"Edward you should leave." Bella said quietly.

Edward nodded before throwing one leg out the window.

"Never take for granted how wonderful she is." he said, glaring at Jacob.

"Don't worry, I'm not you." he said through clenched teeth.

Edward climbed out the window and Jacob shut it silently behind him. He gripped the window sill as Bella started to cry uncontrollably.

"What's wrong? Did you not want him to leave?" Jacob asked.

"It's not that."

"What in the hell was he doing here Bella?" he asked as he turned towards her.

"I didn't invite him, if that's what you're asking." she said as she wiped her eyes.

"You didn't ask him to leave." Jacob said as he folded his arms over his chest.

"I thought that he deserved to have some closure."

"That isn't what he wants, and you know it." Jacob said as he dug his palms into his eyes.

"There were also some things that he needed to know."

"Like what?"

"That nothing could ever happen between us, I don't even know if I can be friends with him right now."

"Then why are you crying?" he asked as he sat in her desk chair.

"Because I am hurting the both of you and it is killing me. Every time I see him, I can't help but notice the sad way that he looks at me or that he is jealous of you. And then you constantly think that I am going to go running back to him. I can't even talk to him on my own without you getting jealous. Do you think I like being pulled in different directions?"

Jacob raked a hand over his face in shame. He hadn't realized that he was putting so much pressure on her. He stood with a sigh and slowly made his way over to her. She stared up at him once she had composed herself.

"I should have known something was wrong. Esme called me his mate last night and I corrected her. But I didn't think about after that."

"You couldn't have known that he would come over here. I told you that he wasn't stable. Do you believe me now?"

"Yes. How did you know that he was here?"

"Sam heard the two of you talking while he was patrolling the forest behind the house. He called me." he said as sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm surprised that you were able to keep your temper." she said as she put a hand on his arm.

"I didn't want to wake your dad up." he said with a shake of his head.

"Will you lay with me?"

"I can't. I told Rachel that I would be right back. She'd rat me out if I stayed here."

"Come over tomorrow?"

"I'll be here first thing in the morning." he said kissing her forehead.

"I love you." she said as he stood.

"I love you too." he said as he opened the window.

"Jake?" she called before he could go through the window.

"Hmm?"

"You're stuck with me, can you handle that?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"I'll manage." he said with a smile of his own.

She laughed as she shook her head. She fell back against the pillows not wanting to go back to sleep. She worried about Edward and all the things that he was doing for her. He still loved her and thought that saving her life would make her come back to him. Every time he talked to her Jacob got hurt. She would have to put some distance between her and Edward, for everyone's sakes.

XXXX

Hannah had been looking for Embry for half an hour. She had been by Quil's, Jacob's, Sam's and finally his house. Sam hadn't seen him all day and his mother was surprised to find out that a girl that she didn't know was looking for her son. She hadn't been able to get in touch with Jacob or Quil either.

She had a feeling that the three of them were together. Maybe they had gone cliff diving. She made her way up the steep incline hearing noise coming from the top. Halfway up she heard someone behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Jacob jogging up the incline.

"Is Embry up there?"

"No. I haven't seen him since this morning." Jacob said with a shake of his head.

"I can't find him anywhere."

"He was called in to work a couple of hours ago to fill in for Mae. He should be home by now."

"I just left there. Has he never had a girlfriend?"

"One, why?"

"Did she ever come over to his house?"

"No, she's my cousin, so she stayed with me."

"His mom gave me the third degree when I went over there."

"You met Nadine? Fun." he said sarcastically rolling his eyes.

"Is she always like that?"

"No. She's just protective of him because he's an only child."

"I felt like I was being interrogated."

"I can call him and ask him to meet you at my house."

Hannah nodded as she shoved her light brown hair out of her eyes. Someone came down the incline and she looked up to see who it was. Quil came to stand next to her while Jacob was on the phone. Less than a minute later he hung up.

"He's home now, and his mom just left for work. He said that you could go over there."

Quil picked her and tossed her onto his back before she could answer Jacob. He took off through the woods and she could hear Jacob's laughter bouncing off the trees.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked in protest.

"If you walked it would take you ten minutes to get there. This way, you'll be there in less than a minute. Hold on tight."

"You are so dead when you put me down." she threatened.

"I would be more worried about Embry hurting me than I would you." he said with a laugh.

He set her down in Embry's yard a second later. Embry opened the door shooting daggers at him. Quil grinned before waving goodbye. He took off in a streak of white and black as Hannah tried to catch her breath.

"Hey." Embry said from the porch.

She waved, not trusting herself to speak. Her heart thudded in her chest as she tried to control her breathing. Embry took the steps two at a time until he was standing in front of her. He leaned down to her level to meet her gaze. She gave him a determined look before wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist before standing to his full height.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly.

"It's okay." he said rubbing her back.

"Can we go inside?" she asked pulling away to look up at him.

He pulled one arm from around her as she pulled her arms from around his neck. He led her into the house and quietly shut the door behind him. They walked silently into the kitchen where she sat at the table and he sat on the counter. She looked down at her hands, nervously wringing them together.

"You can sit over here." she said meeting his gaze.

"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Come and sit over here Embry." she said with a small laugh.

He was sitting in front of her less than two seconds later. Her gaze met his and she gathered all the courage she had.

"I want you to know that what happened the other day was not your fault."

"It wasn't?"

"No. I had visions of my parents fighting and then my dad leaving and I panicked. I don't want to be like that."

"I've met your mom; you're nothing like her."

"I did a lot of thinking yesterday and I realized that I wasn't being fair to you, or myself."

"So what did you decide?"

"I want to be with you." she said as she looked at him from beneath her lashes.

He wasn't sure that he had heard her right, so he looked down at his hands showing no emotion.

"Embry?" she asked putting a hand on his.

He looked up to see her watching him with concern.

"Have you changed your mind?" she asked.

"Hell no." he said with a laugh.

She nodded with a smile. He linked his fingers through hers before she squeezed his hand tightly.

"We need to talk about what's going on. I want you to be honest with me, and I'll always be honest with you."

He nodded in agreement. She was right; hiding things from her wouldn't help things. He had never lied to her and he never planned on doing it in the future. She let go of his hand before walking around the table to sit next to him. He gave her an unsure look as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"It would have been uncomfortable if I leaned over the table to kiss you." she said before leaning in.

He cupped her neck before meeting her half way. When their lips met he felt all of the air rush from his lungs. Fireworks exploded in front of his eyes. The kiss was gentle at first but by the time she wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him closer he was ready to explode. Her tongue brushed against his bottom lip gently making him groan. He opened his mouth to her and it was like a switch went off and everything else around him went away except her. Was it supposed to be like this?

Her hands went to his chest and she pushed him away gently. He looked at her expectantly, nervously chewing on his bottom lip.

"I didn't expect it to be like that." she said with a shaky laugh.

"You felt it?"

"Yeah." she said with a nod.

A flash of black caught his attention outside the kitchen window and he looked over her shoulder curiously. Sam stood in the front yard in wolf form. His eyes widened in surprise as she watched him curiously.

"I'll be right back."

"What's going on?"

"My neighbor's dog is in the front yard."

"Can I do anything to help?"

"Stay in here. He's pretty big, and he doesn't like strangers." he said as he made his way to the front door.

Sam went around the side of the house and Embry met him there after he had phased.

_The redhead is back. She was poking around at Jake's._

_Give me a few minutes. Hannah is here._

_I'm going to chase her off. Have someone take Hannah back to Jake's. Meet me in the forest._

Embry quickly got dressed again before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He dialed the last person he called not knowing who else to call on short notice. He came back in as he was shutting his phone.

"I have to go. But Seth is going to walk you back to Jake's."

"Is everything okay?"

"I'll tell you about it later. Right now I really have to leave." he said as he came to stand in front of her.

He brushed his lips to hers gently hearing Seth knock on the door. Embry reluctantly pulled away before opening the door. Seth came inside and Hannah stared at him with wide eyes.

He was not the eleven year old that she remembered. Embry brushed past him while Hannah gawked at him.

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Are there any boys younger than you that have joined?"

"A couple."

"I've missed so much."

"Leah's a part of the pack too."

"You mean she's gotten meaner?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"And more stubborn."

"Wonderful." she said rolling her eyes.

"Are you ready to go? I'm sure that Sam has taken care of the problem at Jake's."

"Something happened at Jake's?"

"Nothing serious, his house wasn't broken into." he said with a laugh.

"I don't know." she said unsurely.

"Paul is going to stay there until Billy comes home."

"I guess I'm ready."

The three minute walk to Jake's seemed like it took an hour. Hannah was walking in a fog while Seth was quiet. Paul and Rachel met them in the front yard. Rachel pulled Hannah into the house while Paul and Seth talked in the front yard.

"What happened?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know." Hannah said with a shake of her head.

"I mean what happened with Embry nimrod."

Hannah smiled bashfully as she avoided Rachel's gaze.

"You didn't sleep with him did you?"

"No, I'm not you." Hannah said with a sly smile.

"Don't judge me." Rachel said as she rolled her eyes.

Hannah had been the first person that Rachel had told when she had slept with Paul on their first date.

"I apologized, he accepted my apology, we made out… I was the opposite of you."

"He kissed you? That doesn't sound like the Embry I know. He usually over analyzes that kind of thing."

"I kissed him." Hannah said with a shake of her head.

"Is he a good kisser? I've always wondered."

"Why would you wonder if Embry is a good kisser?"

"Because he seems like he would be." Rachel said with a shrug.

"I can't believe that I am having this conversation with you. Your boyfriend is outside and he can hear us."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know about him."

"I'll pass." Hannah said with a laugh.

"Will you please tell me about Embry?"

"Yes, he is."

"I knew it." Rachel said with a shake of her head.

Hannah shook her head as Billy pulled up in the yard. Paul and Seth helped him out of the truck before Seth went home. Rachel opened the door and let them in as Hannah walked into the kitchen. Rachel and Paul went back to the bedroom and the door was shut behind them.

"Where's Jake?"

"He's still at Bella's. He'll be home later." Billy said as he flipped through the channels looking for something to watch.

"When am I going to get to meet her?"

"I have to go over there tomorrow. You can come with me."

Hannah nodded, wondering what was going on. She hoped that Embry was okay, wherever he was.

XXXX

Jake paced Bella's room with his phone clutched in his hand. Sam or Embry should have called him by now. Sam had called him four hours ago to tell him that he had found Victoria snooping around his house. How the hell had she found out where he lived? How did she even know to go there? He was always careful not to leave any trace of Bella's scent in the house. He would have to be more careful.

"Do you think that maybe she could have followed me there one day and you weren't there?" Bella asked to break the tense filled silence.

"Maybe. I have never been so glad that somebody wasn't at my house in my entire life." he said with a sigh.

"Sit down. You're making me even more nervous than I already am." she said reaching out for him as he passed her again.

He sat down beside her and she placed her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist before pulling her closer. His phone rang and he quickly slid it open. It was Embry.

"What happened?" Jacob asked as soon as he put the phone to his ear.

"We found out where Victoria's been hiding. The Cullen's were right, she's got people working for her. There had to be at least two dozen of them."

"Did they see you?"

"I don't think so. We were far enough away that they couldn't smell us."

"What did you find out?"

"Victoria isn't telling them anything. They don't have any clue what's going on."

"Good. That way they won't know what they're getting themselves into."

"They think the Cullen's are the enemy."

"To Victoria they are. Edward killed her mate."

"She's feeding them lies."

"Let her. The less prepared they are the better advantage we have."

"That's what Sam said. He wants all of us to meet him in the clearing at midnight."

"Alright."

"Is Bella okay?"

"She's fine. She's calmer than I am."

"I'll see you later."

Jacob hung up a few seconds later and Bella turned her head to look at him.

"Everything is fine." he said reassuringly.

"You would tell me if something bad had happened?"

"Yes." he said with a nod.

They were silent as the news from Embry sunk in. They needed to prepare themselves just in case there were more than Embry and Sam had seen. It wouldn't hurt to be over prepared.


	8. An Uninvited Guest

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

Alice had refused to tell Bella what she had planned for the day when she had called that morning. That had let Bella know that something was wrong. Her fears were confirmed when Alice had taken her to the mall. Alice had been dragging her from store to store for two hours. Bella had only bought one thing, while Alice's arms were loaded down with bags.

Bella hated shopping, and had let Alice know several times that she wanted to go home.

"One more store after this one, then I promise we'll go back to my house. This is cute, I wonder if they have it in your size." Alice said as she picked up a bikini.

"You mean your size."

"Sweetie, I don't have the body to fill this out. Let me buy it for you?" Alice asked as she looked at her with pleading eyes.

"If we can find it in my size and I like the way it looks on me you can buy it."

They found the only one in her size, and then Alice pushed her towards the changing room. Bella opened the door and let Alice in. It hugged her in all the right places and showed off her breast, which she always tried to hide.

"I wonder if they have it in Rose's size. She would love it." Alice said, leaving the small room.

Bella changed quickly and found Alice by the register. She was empty handed so they must not have had Rosalie's size. Bella did a double take as she glanced down at the price tag.

"Alice this bathing suit is forty dollars."

"That's fine. It will be worth it when Jake sees you wearing it, trust me."

"Are you sure?"

"I am positive. Do not try to talk me out of buying it for you." she said as they stepped up to the counter.

Alice had to pull her into Victoria's Secret because she had refused to go inside. Bella was rifling through the clearance table when Alice came up to her. She held a cami up to Bella's body, looking at it with scrutiny.

"What are you doing?"

"I am trying to decide if this would look good on you or not."

"Why?"

"If it does, I am going to buy it for you."

"No, you're not. The bathing suit was different; this would be something that only Jake would see. Do you know how weird it would be if I let you buy lingerie for me?"

"I buy lingerie for Rose and Esme all the time." she said with a shrug.

"I am not going to let you buy it for me."

"Will you buy it for yourself?"

"Let me see it." Bella said with a sigh.

Alice handed her the cami and thong set and Bella looked at it in concern. It was nice, but it wasn't something that she would normally wear. The lacy, gauzy material was so sheer that she could see through it to the other side. She turned over the price tag for the cami in her fingers. It alone was thirty dollars, and the thong was twenty. She handed it back to Alice with a shake of her head.

"Why?"

"They cost too much. Go put them back."

She continued to look through the items on the table while Alice went to look for something for herself. By the time they left the store Bella had bought a tank top and boxer set and a cami and thong set. She had spent less than the price of the cami that Alice had wanted to buy her.

"Can we go now?"

"Yes. I have never met anyone who hates shopping as much as you do."

"You've never gone shopping with my dad."

"Does Jake not like it?"

"We've never gone shopping together. I'm sure he wouldn't have complained today."

"Bathing suit and lingerie shopping puts Jasper in a good mood too, especially if I let him come into the changing room with me." Alice said with a smirk.

"Jake and I wouldn't have fit into either changing room that I was in."

When they got back to the Cullen's half an hour later Rosalie and Jasper were the only ones home. Alice pulled Jasper up the stairs and their door clicked shut a few seconds later. Bella sat across from Rosalie, who was reading a magazine. She had just picked up a book of sonnets that she was sure Edward had left there when Rosalie cleared her throat. Bella looked up, giving her a questioning look.

"I asked Alice to bring you back here so that you and I could talk."

"About what?"

"It's time that you heard my story."

"You're going to tell about why Carlisle changed you? Why?"

"My story isn't very different from yours in a way. I would be one hundred and six on my next birthday if I still celebrated them. I was very stubborn and set in my ways even then. I knew what I wanted and I stopped at nothing until I got it. My best friend got married right after we finished school. She was pregnant within a year of getting married. It seemed like all of my friends were either getting married or having children. I wanted what they had. My father threw a party for New Years and his boss and his son were there. I was introduced to the son and I was immediately attracted to him. I didn't know anything about him and I was already planning our wedding."

"What was his name?"

"Royce King."

"Royce King? Even his name sounds rich."

"He was. He came from the most prominent family in our town. We started dating in February of that year. By June we were engaged. I was so blissfully happy that I didn't take into consideration that I hardly knew anything about him. I knew that he drank sometimes, and that he gambled some, but so did my father. My father was a good man, so I assumed that Royce was as well. On the night of my bachelorette party I was walking home from a friend's house. It was November, and it was unusually cold for that time of year. It had begun to snow as I made the ten minute walk home. I didn't see Royce or his friends on the other side of the street until Royce called for me. I knew that he was drunk as soon as I stood next to him. He reeked of alcohol and smoke. I tried to get away but he held me against him in a vice like grip. His friends took one look at me and all of them surrounded me before I knew what was happening."

"What did they do to you?"

"They didn't rape me, if that is what you are asking. I fought too hard for them to do that. They beat me until I passed out then left me for dead. When I came to I was already a vampire. I didn't have any say so in the situation. I was resentful of what Carlisle had done. They were all hunting one afternoon and had left me home alone. So I decided to track down each and every one of the men who had attacked me. I killed them off one by one saving Royce for last. He begged and pleaded for his life but I wouldn't listen. I wanted him to feel the pain that I had felt and so much more. Those six men are the only humans that I have ever killed. Afterwards I felt so much remorse for what I had done that I wouldn't go back to Carlisle. Edward is the one who found me wandering in the woods. He talked me into coming back with him; Esme has loved me even more than my own mother ever did. When we found Emmett a decade later I felt like I had found a piece of me that I hadn't realized I was missing."

"That's how I feel about Jacob."

"I don't like that you've gone from loving a vampire to becoming a werewolf's mate. You've gone from one extreme to the next. Don't you realize the danger that you have put yourself into?"

"I am not in any danger. I know that Jacob would never hurt me."

"He may not hurt you but you can still be put in danger."

"I'm already in danger. What else could happen that is worse than what is going on right now?"

"I can't even imagine anything worse than what is happening right now."

"Our stories are alike. We've both gotten a second chance at love."

"Yes, we have. I am so grateful that Emmett was brought into my life. He brings me so much joy and he dotes on me. He always says that I have him wrapped around my finger. I didn't know real love until I met him."

"It's like you're reading my mind. I feel the same way about Jake."

"He doesn't seem like the type to give his love freely."

"You would see it if you didn't always try to piss him off. He is such a kind hearted person."

Rosalie nodded as her lips formed a tight line. Bella was glad that Rosalie felt comfortable enough to tell her story. Edward had told her once that Rosalie hadn't wanted to live this life when she was first changed. Now she understood why. She had always wondered why Rosalie was so guarded, now that she knew she felt sorry for her. She had literally begged Edward to change her on more than one occasion and Rosalie had held her tongue. She didn't know if she would have been able to do that.

XXXX

He slipped into the bedroom, quietly memorizing where everything was so that he could report back to Victoria. The smell of human was so strong that fire lit his throat almost immediately. He made his way to the closet and opened the door without a sound. He fingered the clothes on the hangers bringing a shirt to his nose to take in its scent. Victoria had said that it would be best to get something that the girl had worn recently.

He searched the room until he found a clothes basket underneath one of the windows. It only had a few things in it and a smile spread across his face when he picked up a flannel shirt that had the girls scent on it. His throat clenched shut as he breathed the scent in. Victoria had also said that she wanted to know what the inside of the house looked like in case the girl was ever there alone.

The floorboards were loose but didn't creak underneath his feet as he walked down the hall to the stairs. He heard noise from downstairs making him wonder if the girl were home after all. The stairs creaked and he stopped dead in his tracks, hoping that the person downstairs didn't hear him. He would have to be more careful.

He entered the living room to see that the person on the couch was a man, more than likely the girl's father and he had fallen asleep while watching the news. He stood over the man, breathing deep to take in his scent. It wasn't the same as the girls, but he would do. He leaned in, his mouth curling into a snarl when he was inches away from the man's neck. He paused, noticing a new scent. He hadn't thought to check to see if they had a dog.

He moved to the window to see if he could see anything, seeing nothing but a police cruiser in the driveway. He heard someone upstairs as he made his way back to the man on the couch. He bolted for the front door, not bothering to close it on his way out.

Leah was mentally cursing herself for going off course. She should have stayed close to the house like Sam and Jacob had told her. It was her first time patrolling the house on her own and she had blown it. She quickly phased and grabbed her phone out of her pocket once she was dressed.

"Hello?"

"We have a problem."

"What's going on?"

"I was running patrol in the woods and I decided to broaden my search by about five miles. When I got back to the house there was someone in it. I ran them off, but I think it might have been a vampire."

"Was it one of the Cullen's?"

"I don't think so."

"Did you get a good look at him?"

"I only saw him from the back. He was too short to be one of the Cullen's."

"What did I tell you before you left tonight Leah?"

"To stick to what you and Jake told me to do. How was I supposed to know that someone would break into the house? Luckily Charlie slept through the whole thing."

"Charlie is there?"

"He's asleep on the couch."

"Stay there. Jake and I will be there in a few minutes." Sam said with a frustrated sigh.

She wasn't looking forward to the verbal lashing that she would get not only from Sam but Jacob. She had made a bad error in judgment and had nearly gotten Charlie killed. Luckily Bella was staying with Sam and Emily.

XXXX

Bella had just lain down on the couch when Sam came downstairs just after midnight. He was quiet as he went through the house quickly trying to find his keys in the dark. Someone knocked on the door and Sam let Jacob in. Bella sat up giving the two of them a worried look when Sam had to turn on the light in the kitchen.

"What's going on?"

"It's nothing. Just some teenagers causing a problem on the beach, go to sleep Bells." Sam said calmly.

He walked out the door and Jacob came to stand over her.

"What's really going on?" she asked giving him a scared look.

"I'll tell you later. Stay inside, and lock the door after us." he said before kissing her forehead.

"Be careful." she called after him.

He turned to look at her as he stood at the door. He gave her a reassuring look before walking out the door. Emily came down not long after Sam's truck pulled out of the driveway.

"I don't know about you, but all that excitement is making it hard for me to fall asleep."

"I wonder what really happened."

"What did they tell you?"

"Sam said that there were some kids causing trouble on the beach."

"That happens sometimes. They usually run them off and come right back. It shouldn't take long." Emily said as she walked around the kitchen.

"I think that it was more than that."

"It probably was, but they don't want us to worry. Come and sit with me, I have something I want to talk to you about."

Bella sat at the table while Emily busied herself with filling the tea kettle and getting tea bags down from the cabinet.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"How old are you Bella?"

"I'm eighteen, why?"

"Are you sexually active?"

"No." Bella said slowly.

"You and your ex-boyfriend never…"

"Edward was born in 1901. He's very set in his ways."

"He's over a hundred years old? He came from a different time than we do, I can understand that."

"Where is this conversation going?"

"There is some tension between you and Jacob, sexual frustration if you will."

"We fool around all the time."

"That's good, but he's a twenty first century teenage boy. He has sex on the brain. Quil and Embry tease him because he is the oldest virgin in the pack."

"He's never mentioned it."

"Of course he hasn't. He doesn't want to pressure you into having sex. All I am saying is that you should think about it. All of the aggression he feels towards Edward will probably go away once it happens."

"Because Jacob will have a tie to me that Edward doesn't."

"It's all about bragging rights. I hate to say that, but it's the truth."

"I know." Bella said with a nod.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"

"No."

The tea kettle whistled and Emily stood to pull it off the stove. Bella was glad that she had talked with Emily. She felt like she was ready, but she hadn't known how to broach the subject with Jacob. She needed talk to him about it sooner rather than later.

XXXX

He heard pounding footsteps to the right of him but didn't see anyone. It smelled like one of the Cullen's so he wasn't too alarmed when Jasper came out of the trees a football field length away from him. They ran in the same direction in silence as they tried to pick up on the scent that he had lost a few minutes before. Sam and Paul were on the cliff just ahead of them, looking out into the ocean.

_Whoever it was, they're gone now. _ Sam thought.

_Did you get a good look at them? _Jacob asked.

_He never looked back once. _Paul said.

_He knew what he was doing. Victoria must have warned him._

_He was __carrying something; it looked like it could have been a plastic bag. _Sam offered.

_Could you see what was inside it? _

_No. _Paul said with a sigh.

"I am feeling very out of the loop here. It's not a good feeling." Jasper said solemnly.

Jacob phased and quickly dressed, not caring that Jasper looked flustered at the sight of his naked body.

"They didn't get a good look at him. He was carrying something, but neither of them could get close enough to see what it was. Victoria told him what to expect, but he was obviously unprepared."

"Did he see them?"

Jacob looked between Sam and Paul and they both shook their heads.

"He probably just smelled them like with Leah."

"Let's go home boys. We've had enough action for the night." Jasper said before turning around.

Jacob stripped down again and the three friends took off in the opposite direction that Jasper had taken.

_Go home Jake. I'll handle Bella. _Sam said.

_I'm just glad that she wasn't home. _

_I'm surprised the psychic didn't see i__t. _Paul said.

_Victoria probably warned him about her. _Sam said.

If Bella had been home she would be dead. He would give Leah an earful when he saw her again. He had told Sam that she needed someone with her but he hadn't listened. Next time there would be; he would make sure of it.


	9. Safe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**AN: This chapter contains lemon.**

Jacob stood outside Newton's watching Bella ring up a customer. He didn't see anyone else in the store so he held the door open for the woman who was leaving before going inside. Bella looked up at him with a smile which vanished when she saw the worried look on his face. He made his way to her with his hands in his pockets. He had been avoiding her all day because he was scared of how she would react to what he had to tell her.

"What's wrong?" she asked once he came to stand at the counter.

"Is anyone else here?"

"Mike and his dad are in the back. Why?"

"Can you take your break? I need to talk to you."

"Is everything okay?" she asked as she opened the partition.

"Everything is fine now." he said with a nod.

"But it wasn't last night?" she asked.

He shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm gonna go get Mike. I'll be right back."

They were standing outside a few minutes later. Her eyes widened with every sentence that he said.

"Somebody broke into my house?"

"Yes."

"And they tried to hurt my dad?"

"Yes." he said with a nod.

"Where was Leah when this happened?"

"Widening her search past where Sam and I told her to. The guy was already inside when she got back to the house. She chased him out the front door."

"What did my dad say?"

"He slept through it. I went over there after everything was done to check on him and I could smell the guy on him."

"How did he get in?"

"Through your window, I'm guessing he came looking for you."

"Alice didn't see it?"

"No." he said with a shake of his head.

Bella collapsed against him and he wrapped his arms around her. He saw Mike watching them with a worried expression before quickly looking away. She wasn't crying, so that was a good sign. A few minutes past before Mike came to the door.

"Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine." Jacob said rubbing her back.

"I talked to my dad; you can go home if you want Bella."

"Do you want me to take you home?" Jacob asked as he looked down at her.

She nodded with a sigh once she pulled away from him.

"I can clock her out." Mike said quietly.

"Go get in the truck, I'll get your stuff." Jacob said before letting go of her.

The ride to Bella's was quiet. Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway when they pulled up.

"He has to work tonight." Bella said.

"I can't stay. Sam wants to have a pack meeting tonight."

"Can you come over afterwards?"

"Embry and I have to run patrol. I'll come and see you if I can."

"Okay."

"What time does your dad leave for work?"

"He works eight to four."

Jacob kissed her lightly before getting out of the truck. Charlie met her at the door and she threw her arms around him. He tentively wrapped his arms around her before looking over her shoulder at Jacob. Jacob shrugged before getting in his car which was parked in front of Charlie's cruiser where he had left it earlier.

"What's with you?" Charlie asked as he looked down at Bella.

"I missed you." she mumbled.

"You missed me? You saw me yesterday morning."

"I know." she said before latching onto him tighter.

"Well then I missed you too." he said rubbing her back.

She pulled away to look up at him only to see that he was looking at her through worried eyes. She didn't want to give away that something was wrong. She smiled up at him before pulling away from him completely.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"I was about to make me a sandwich."

"I'll make you something. What would you like?"

"Pork chops sound good."

"I'll make you some fried pork chops." she said as she passed him to walk into the house.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine dad. I've just had a long day."

"Go to bed early tonight then, you'll feel better in the morning."

"I think I will." she said as she pulled pork chops out of the freezer.

Charlie went upstairs to get ready for work while she defrosted the pork chops and got them in the pan. He came downstairs as she was putting biscuts in the oven.

"Do you want me to set the table?" he asked.

"I've got it." she said as she shut the oven door.

They were eating dinner half an hour later when Bella saw something out in the yard. She looked out the window and Emmett waved from the tree line across the street. So Jacob had asked him to keep an eye on her until he could run patrol. She didn't know what to make of it. Should she be happy that Jacob hadn't wanted her to be alone, or should she be offended because he didn't think that she could take care of herself?

XXXX

Bella sat on the front porch waiting for Jacob. She had found out from Emmett that Carlisle had sent him, not Jacob, so Jacob's head was off the chopping block. She opened her phone to check the time; it was a little after midnight.

"Bells?" Jacob asked.

She looked up to see him walking up the walkway towards her.

"Hey." she said with a smile.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I was waiting for you."

"It's dangerous."

"Emmett is around here somewhere. He would have made me go inside if something happened."

"What is he doing here?"

"Carlisle sent him over. I don't know why." she said with a shrug.

"Go inside. I can't stay." he said with a sigh.

"Sure you can. I can cover for you." Emmett said as he came around the side of the house.

"Come inside. Please?" she asked giving him a pleading look.

"Five minutes. That's all." Jacob said giving her a stern look

"Take as long as you need." Emmett said before heading back around the house.

Bella stood as Jacob opened the door. He followed her upstairs to her room where she turned on the lamp by the bed.

"What's going on Bells?" he asked.

"I've been doing some thinking."

"That can't be good." he said giving her a tight lipped look.

"Take that back or I won't show you what I bought tonight." she said pushing lightly on his chest.

"Okay, I take it back, only because I want to know what you bought."

"Open my top nightstand drawer."

He walked across the room to stand in front of her to open the drawer then slowly looked down. The drawer was full of condom boxes of every size.

"Seriously?" he asked as his eyes met hers.

"I've been thinking about it, and I think we're ready." she said with a nod.

He picked up a box, turning it over a couple of times in his hand. It was one of the bigger boxes, which surprised her.

"These will work." he said closing the drawer.

She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her. He leaned down to kiss her before laying her on the bed gently once he had set the condom box on the nightstand. His fingers ran through her hair as he looked down at her. He expected her to be scared, or at least nervous. She was calm, which meant that she had been thinking about this for a while.

"Why didn't you talk to me about this before?"

"I wasn't sure how to bring it up. I didn't want there to be a lot of questions and a debate about it."

"Are you absolutely sure? Because it isn't too late for you to back out."

"Do you not want to?"

"Of course I do, I'm worried that you aren't as ready as you think you are."

"I am ready." she said giving him a determined look.

"Okay." he said before leaning down to brush his lips to hers.

She loved him even more because he wanted to make sure that she was ready. She reached between them to push his shorts down his hips. He leaned up enough so that she could push them down the rest of the way as he kicked off his shoes. He pulled away from her to pull his shirt over his head. Bella pulled her tank top over her head and it was added to the clothes at the end of the bed.

Jacob's hands traveled down her torso, his fingers grazing her skin in light touches before he pulled down her shorts. They were the same ones that she had modeled for him the night before. Once she was down to her bra and underwear she ran her hands down his stomach, his heated skin was hotter than normal, but it wasn't scalding to the touch.

He pulled her up to reach around her. She wrapped her arms around his neck once he slipped her arms out of her bra. She pulled him to her and brought her lips to his again. His hands cupped her breast as their tongue's caressed each other. She ran her fingers through his hair trying to hold back the moan that was building in her throat.

His hands traveled south again to slip a hand into her underwear. He cupped her gently, taking in her warmth before slipping a finger inside her. He applied pressure, feeling her squirm beneath him. She let out a content sigh that let him know that she was only trying to get closer to him. She pulled at his hair gently as the moan from before came to the surface.

He pulled away to look down at her. He took in her features, not believing that what was happening was happening. It felt like he was outside himself watching what was happening as a third person in the room. Her fingers brushed over his forehead pulling his attention back to her. He smiled down at her before brushing his fingers down her chin. She leaned into the touch with a smile as he added another finger.

Her forehead furrowed making him wonder what was wrong.

"Hey." he said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine. No one told me how much it would hurt."

"Do you want to stop?"

"No. Just take my mind off of it." she said with determination.

He sighed before leaning down to brush his lips to hers again. It was the only way he could think of to assuage her fears. He would go as easy as possible, that would make things easier. He broke the kiss but kept his forehead to hers. One of her hands left his hair to make a slow decent down his side. She brought it between them to push his boxers down. He pushed them down one handed as she grabbed hold of his erection.

They found an easy rhythm as she pumped her hand up and down and he deftly added a third finger. The pain wasn't as bad when all of her attention was focused on him. Her mom had never had the sex talk with her. Renee was more of a try it for yourself person. Bella wished that she had a friend that she could go to about this kind of thing. She had a feeling that Jessica would give her too much information and Angela wouldn't be of much help.

He added a fourth finger, feeling her stretch underneath his touch. She hadn't shown any sign of discomfort since the first time so he was starting to relax and be in the moment again.

"I think you should put the condom on." she said quietly.

"Are you ready for that?" he asked giving her an unsure look.

She nodded as she reached with her free hand for the box of condoms. He took them from her as she pulled off her underwear. He took his time opening the wrapper than sliding it down his erection.

"I'm going to go as slow as possible." he said, trying to reassure her.

She nodded as she pulled him back to her. He positioned himself over top of her and guided himself into her. She closed her eyes with a sigh as he slowly pushed his way in. Inch by slow inch he felt himself sink deeper and deeper into her. She was still beneath him except for her hands exploring his back. He had expected that, he knew that once they had slept together a few times that things would be different.

He hadn't been comfortable going to his dad to talk about sex, but ironically enough he had felt comfortable enough to go to Rachel. They had spent hours on the phone when he and Bella had first gotten together and she had answered all of his questions willingly. His sister could be normal when she wanted to be.

Bella moved beneath him pulling his thoughts back to her.

"Is the pain gone?"

"It's bearable."

He smiled before leaning down to kiss her forehead. She kept him close by wrapping her arms around his neck. He picked up the pace a little and she was able to match his rhythm easily. He pulled her arms from around him to lean down to her breast. He brushed his fingers over them before leaning down to latch onto one of them.

Bella's breath caught in her throat making her gasp at the feeling. He cupped her other breast in his closest hand, rubbing his thumb over the already taught nipple. Her hands fisted in his hair pulling gently as he moved to the side of her breast. She knew exactly what he was doing.

"Are you trying to mark me?" she asked with a small laugh.

"Are you complaining?" he asked pulling away a few inches.

"No." she said running her fingers through his already sweat slicked hair.

She rolled them over and he continued what he was doing without missing a beat. Her hair fell around them like a curtain. She pulled away from him and her body immediately reacted to the lack of contact. Her hands started a slow decent starting with his shoulders and ending with his torso. She had never taken the time to admire his body like this. She made a mental note to do it more often.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just taking you in. I'm a lucky girl." she said with a small smile.

"Come here." he said pulling her to him.

She lay over top of him still smiling. His fingers threaded into her hair as he pulled her head down to his. He flipped them over with one stealth turn before continuing the pace that he had set before. His hands traveled down her body to her center as her hands gripped his biceps.

She leaned up to meet his thrust as the kissed deepened. Her hands moved up his to shoulders before linking them around his neck once more. Her nails dug into his back making him moan against her lips. She pulled lightly on his lip making him growl before pulling away. He gave her a stern look and she gave him an innocent look in return. She knew how to push his buttons and what drove him crazy. Biting his bottom lip usually sent him over the edge.

He felt the all too familiar feeling of a climax making him groan. Bella lifted herself up off of the bed to meet his thrust feeling her own orgasm approaching. He slid in and out of her a few more times before his breath hitched and he spilled his seed into the condom. Bella dug her nails into his back again as her orgasm racked through her.

"Oh God." she moaned.

"Christ." he said as he fell against her.

Her fingers slid through his hair as he buried his face in her neck. He kissed behind her ear, knowing how much she loved it.

_What have you done? _ Edward's voice accused.

"Damn it." Jacob growled as he climbed off of her.

"What is it?"

"I can't share anything with you without him butting in." he said as he angrily threw his clothes on.

"How could Edward know?"

"He's outside." he said as he opened the window.

"That's just great." she said pulling the sheet around her before getting out of bed.

"Stay inside; I am going to handle this once and for all." he said before jumping from the tree.

Bella turned towards the bed pushing her hair out of her face. She noticed the red stain in the center of her bottom sheet immediately. It was a considerably big and very noticeable stain. She pulled the sheet from her to inspect it and was glad to know that it was clean. She dressed quickly, not hearing anything from the yard. She looked out the window to see Jacob and Edward standing toe to toe, Jacob's tense demeanor let her know that she would have to go down there and intercede.

She stripped the bed then ran downstairs to the laundry room. She treated the stain while the washing machine filled up with water and detergent. She threw the sheet in then slammed the top of the washing machine closed before heading outside.

"You have no right to be here." Jacob said as he clenched his fist tightly.

"I was running patrol, so I do have a right to be here." Edward said in a condescending tone.

"Edward I think that you should leave." Bella said as she came to stand next to Jacob.

"I asked you to stay inside." Jacob said as he shook his head.

"I didn't think you would want my neighbors to see you phase." she said as she put a hand on his arm.

"Don't you have any respect for her at all?" Edward accused.

"Yes he does. He has more respect for me than you did when we were together."

"Obviously not." Edward said with a scoff.

Jacob moved to lunge at him but Bella tightened her grip on him.

"Let me handle it. There are things that he needs to know." she said as she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Go ahead."

"First off, he does respect me. He has more respect for me than anyone I have ever met. What happened tonight was my idea. He tried to stop it from happening twice."

"I didn't hear that." Edward said with a shake of his head.

"Of course you didn't. You only hear what you want. Let me fill you in on something else. He was there for me when I didn't have anyone else."

"You mean when I left?"

"Yes. When you left I was not myself. Jacob pushed and prodded until I finally came to my senses."

"I didn't realize that you knew about that." Jacob said quietly.

"Well I did. What is happening between Jacob and I didn't happen overnight Edward. It has taken a long time to get to where we are. I had a lot of issues that I needed to work through. Even when I tried to push him away, he never left me alone. That's what I needed. I just didn't want to admit it at the time."

"If I had never left, the two of you would not be together."

"There's no telling what might have happened if you hadn't left. But you did, I am just glad that you didn't listen when I asked you to take me with you."

"I want you to leave." Jacob said glaring at Edward.

"Someone needs to patrol with Embry." Edward said with a shake of his head.

"Then do it and leave us alone." Jacob said through clenched teeth.

Bella fell against Jacob and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Edward left without saying anything else.

"Let's go back inside." he said before turning towards the house.

"I need to call my dad."

"Why?"

"So he doesn't shoot you when he comes home and sees you asleep on the couch."

She was able to come up with a plausible reason for his staying with her. She told her dad that Edward had come over and had refused to leave. She had been so scared that Jacob had to step in to make Edward leave. She was scared that he would come back and wanted Jacob to be there just in case. Charlie had agreed wholeheartedly and had thanked Jacob for being there when Bella needed him.

"You came up with that pretty fast." Jacob said as he watched her remake the bed.

"I thought of it while I was throwing my sheet in the wash."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. He just stresses me out sometimes." she said with a sigh as she shook her head.

"He stresses me out all the time." he said as he helped her pull the blanket back onto the bed.

"I know he does."

His hand caught hers as she was smoothing down the blanket. She looked up at him curiously.

"Just because things are chaotic right now doesn't mean that they will always be like this. As soon as this is all over I plan on showing you what a normal life can be like."

"I'm looking forward to it." she said with a smile.

He squeezed her hand before she lay down on the bed. She pulled him down with her and he turned on his side to face her. She rolled over on her side before closing her eyes. She was worn out from dealing with Edward and was finally ready to go to sleep. He grabbed the quilt from the end of the bed and pulled it over them. They didn't think Charlie would think anything was going on after what Bella had told him earlier. She hadn't lied to him; she just hadn't told him the whole story.


	10. One Step Closer to the Edge

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**AN: As you can see from the title, this isn't a happy chapter. I got the title from a Linkin Park song. It's called One Step Closer, and I ****highly recommend it if you need to get some anger out. Just remember to play it loud, that the way it was meant to be played. Also, I didn't base the chapter around the song; I just took a portion of a line from it.**

Bella woke up the next morning to an empty bed. Jacob's side of the bed was ice cold letting her know that he had been gone for a while. The sun was high in the sky, an indication that it was later than she thought it was. She grabbed her phone with a groan and stared at it through bleary eyes. It was almost ten. Where had Jacob gone? It wasn't like him to leave without telling her goodbye.

She got out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom. She stumbled over her dad's boots at the bottom of the stairs. She put them by the door where they belonged before going into the kitchen. She made a pot of coffee in a sleep filled haze. She was grabbing the milk from the refrigerator when she saw the note stuck to the door with a magnet.

_Went to see the Cullen's, I'll come and see you at work.__ Love, Jacob_

Crap, she had forgotten that she had to work. She had to be there in less than an hour. That didn't give her much time to get ready. Her stomach grumbled in protest and she made a mental note to grab something to eat on the way in. She heard her dad up and walking around as she started the shower. He was knocking on the door as she dried herself off ten minutes later.

"Come on Bells, I need to get in there." he said in an agitated voice.

"Sorry."

"Late night last night?" he asked as he passed her.

"We didn't go to sleep until after two."

"I'm going to let the fact that he slept up here slide just this once because you needed him. But if I come home to find him in bed with you again I will make sure that you never have children." he said as he opened the bathroom door again.

"Yes sir." she called from her room.

"We are going to talk about what happened last night when I get home from work. Edward is never allowed over here again."

"Yes sir." she said in agreement.

Twenty minutes later she was getting her stuff together when Charlie called up the stairs that Embry was there. What was he still doing on patrol? He was coming up the stairs as she came to stand at the top of the stairs.

"Have you slept yet?" she asked loud enough for only him to hear.

"No. I'm your ride into work today." he said tiredly.

"I don't need a ride." she said with a shake of her head.

"I guess Jake didn't talk to you before he went home."

"Talk to me about what?"

"It's nothing serious. I wouldn't worry about it. Are you ready to go?"

"I guess. Just so you know; we're stopping somewhere to get something to eat. I'm starving."

He nodded as they both walked into the kitchen.

"You look like you had a night like Bella did Embry." Charlie said in concern.

"Something like that." Embry said with a nod.

His eyes flickered to Bella's and she gave him a thankful look. A few minutes later they were in his car headed into downtown Forks. He stopped at the only McDonalds in town and Bella bought them both breakfast. They were both eating at the counter at Newton's twenty minutes later.

"How much did you hear last night?"

"Not much. I tried to stay far enough away that I couldn't hear what was going on but within running distance if something happened." he reassured her.

"Did you hear Edward?"

"No. He kept his thoughts to himself. I heard him the same time that Jacob did. You don't need to worry about me telling everyone."

"I wasn't worried about that. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do that."

The early afternoon passed slowly and before she knew it, it was two o' clock. Embry had to leave to go to work and within minutes Jacob came in. He sat on the counter going through a hunting and fishing magazine while she stocked the display case. He was silent, which rattled her already frazzled nerves.

She sat on the counter next to him after a customer left. He wouldn't even look at her.

"You've been here for an hour and you haven't said one word to me." she said with a sigh.

"I've got a lot on my mind." he said, not looking up from the magazine.

"You can tell me." she said looking at him with reassuring eyes.

"Not here. What time do you get off?" he asked finally meeting her gaze.

"Whenever Mike gets here. He should be here soon." she said lacing her fingers through his.

His skin was hotter than she had ever felt it and she quickly pulled her hand away. The tips of her fingers were red and there was a blister where her palm connected to her wrist. It wasn't bad, but it still hurt.

"You shouldn't have done that." he said with a sigh.

"It's fine, it doesn't hurt that much. I was only trying to comfort you." she mumbled.

"I don't mean to scare you. I've had a really bad day and I haven't slept since the night before last. It is taking all the patience I have to be nice to you." he said with a shake of his head.

The bell above the door rang and Mike stepped inside as a clap of thunder sounded outside. Bella had been so worried about Jacob that she hadn't realized that it was about to rain.

"I'll meet you outside." he said quietly before sliding off the counter.

Bella shook her head with a sigh as she clocked out. Mike came to her side of the counter while she gathered her things.

"What's with him?"

"I don't know, he hasn't told me yet."

"He looks like someone died." Mike said while looking at Jacob who was outside with his arms folded over his chest while leaning against his car.

"I'll see you around." Bella called over her shoulder as she walked up the steps a few seconds later.

Jacob got into the car as she made her way around to the passenger side. The ride to her house was silent. She looked out the window at the impending gray clouds that covered the sky. The storm wasn't there yet, but it was close.

At her house Jacob got out of the car first and sat on the hood. Bella came to stand in front of him with her hands on his legs. The heat was still there, but at least she had his clothing for protection.

"Are you ready to tell me what's wrong?"

"You aren't going to like what I have to say. Keep in mind that I have your best interest at heart." he said with a sigh.

"Okay." she said slowly.

"Sam brought something up at the meeting last night. Carlisle brought it up again this morning. They think that you shouldn't be left alone, and I agree with them."

"Why? Do you not think that I can take care of myself?" she asked as worry flashed through her eyes.

"I know that you can. But what's happening isn't going to stop until we kill Victoria and the newborns. We have had two pack meetings in the past three days because things are spiraling out of control. I would sleep better knowing that there was someone looking after you."

"I do not need a babysitter Jacob." she said giving him an icy glare.

"Please do not fight with me about this. I've already had to deal with Edward pointing out that he thinks that I'm an incompetent idiot. He's blaming me for everything that is happening to you." he said with a strangled sigh.

"It is not your fault. I swear I wish I could kill him sometimes." she said as she shoved her hands through her hair.

"Yes it is. If I had been on patrol with Leah the night that guy broke in he never would have gotten into the house."

"You are doing everything you can. I do not blame you for what is going on." she said, her voice pleading with him to reason with her.

"You are going to have to put your hatred for Edward aside, because he is going to be looking out for you just like everyone else is."

"My dad threatened to have him thrown in jail for what happened last night. He can't be here." she said quickly.

"We'll work around it." he said with an angry sigh.

"I don't like this, not one bit." she said as she shook her head.

"It doesn't matter if you don't like it Bella, it's something that you're going to have to deal with." Jacob said as his eyes met hers.

All of his anger was etched across his face as she took in his features.

"I don't like being told what to do, you know that." she said, trying to remain calm.

"You didn't have a problem following Edward's orders." he said with an attitude.

"That was a low blow; you know that I had no control over that." she said harshly, giving him a hurt look.

He wished that he hadn't said as soon as he had said it. He did know that she'd had no control over what happened when she was with Edward. He had promised himself that he would never treat her like that and here he was bossing her around.

"I don't like this anymore than you do, but my hands are tied. Sam made an order and I have to follow it." he said as he ran a hand over his face.

"Go home. I'd rather not talk to you right now." she said with a sigh.

"I can't change what's going on Bella."

"And neither can I. Right now we're taking our anger out on each other and I don't want you to do something that you'll regret later." she said before turning to walk into the house.

Jacob growled deep in his throat before getting off the car. He phased, not caring about his clothes. Paul was somewhere close by so he kept his thoughts to himself. Soon Seth and Brady would take over for the night and tomorrow would be Jared and Leah's turn. Jared was the only one who Leah didn't fight with. No one understood it, but they weren't going to argue with her about it.

He was almost home when he heard someone off to his right but a few miles off.

_Not now. _Jacob said in warning.

_Don't mind me. I'm just headed to your house to see your sis__ter. I can take her back to my place if you want. _Paul answered.

_I swear if you tell anyone what you heard I will find a way to kill you. _He threatened.

_Nobody is going to find out from me._ Paul promised.

Jacob gave Paul a few extra minutes and by the time he got home Paul and Rachel had already left. He had never been so glad to have the house to himself. His dad was spending the weekend with a friend that he didn't get to see but once a year.

He threw himself onto the bed in exhaustion knowing that he would spend another night tossing and turning. He needed to take his mind off of everything that was going on but he knew that it would be impossible until after the battle. He had been spreading himself too thin lately. He was running three times as many patrols as everyone else. He found himself running patrol even when someone else was already doing it because he wanted to make sure that Bella was safe.

He was taking his anger out on her and he knew that it was wrong. He needed to talk to her rationally and make her see that keeping watch on her around the clock until everything was over was best. The pack could see that things were starting to take a toll on him. They could see that Bella was losing sleep. Maybe a day away from her to get his head together would do them both some good.

XXXX

Bella had gone to her room as soon as she had left Jacob standing in the front yard. She knew that she wasn't being fair to him. He wasn't asking for a lot. She knew that her safety was important to everyone involved and she had taken her anger out on the wrong person. If everyone had their way she would never get the chance to lash out at the right person. How was she supposed to move on when everyone kept sheltering her?

The window slid open at a little after nine. She turned her head to the silhouette climbing through the window.

"Alice, I would rather be alone right now."

"I thought that you could use a friend. Jacob called Carlisle earlier. He thinks that you would be safer if he was the one watching you."

"I can't even talk to him without getting aggravated right now. But that was nice of him."

"Someone would be with you while he is working but, other than that he would be with you. Would you be able to live with that?"

"Like I said, things are a little tense between Jacob and I right now." Bella said quietly.

"Every couple has their rough spots. It isn't anything that can't be worked out." Alice said as she sat next to her on the bed.

"Are you my babysitter for the night?" she asked bitterly.

"Only because Jacob thought that it would be best if the two of you had some distance. He should be here tomorrow. He's been losing a lot of sleep because of you." Alice said as she ran a hand through Bella's hair.

The touch soothed her frayed nerves. Alice had a more calming effect on her than Jasper did sometimes. Bella let out a sigh as tears pricked her eyes. Alice pulled her to her and Bella buried her face in Alice's shirt. The tears came freely as Alice rubbed her back.

"It's alright. Let it out." she said soothingly.

"I feel so guilty sometimes, and then there are times when I wish that there was something that I could do other than sit around and do nothing. I am just as angry as everyone else that Victoria is doing this. I am the one she is after and I won't have anything to do with getting rid of her." she said into Alice's neck, her voice strained.

"We can think of something for you to do. We'll talk to everyone else soon, I promise." Alice murmured against her ear.

Bella let all of her weight fall against Alice, and Alice rubbed her back in soothing circles.

"Seth, Brady, I know that you can hear me. I don't want Jacob finding out what Bella and I are talking about." Alice warned.

They stayed that way all night. Bella finally fell asleep after midnight as Alice hummed a soothing song to lull her to sleep. It would be the first peaceful night's rest that she would have since before Edward left without Jacob.


	11. Missing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

Bella woke in the morning hearing her dad walking around downstairs. She heard Alice's tinkling laughter and that let her know that last night hadn't been a dream. Her eyes were as dry as sandpaper and she had a pounding headache. She made her way downstairs to the kitchen and almost ran into Charlie.

"Sorry Bells. Alice was just telling me about the slumber party you guys had last night."

"She needed it." Alice offered as she put a hand on Bella's shoulder.

"Alice is a good friend to have when you need her."

Alice smiled tenderly at her before giving her a sympathetic look.

"I've got to go in early today. I won't be home until eight, so don't worry about making dinner tonight. I'll eat while I'm at work."

"Yes sir." Bella said with a nod.

Charlie left a few minutes later once he had hugged and kissed Bella goodbye. She searched through the cabinets over the stove and by the refrigerator for the aspirin to no avail.

"They're in the medicine cabinet in the downstairs bathroom." Alice offered.

Bella gave her a grateful smile before heading down the hall. Alice handed her a glass of water when she came back into the kitchen.

"What did you want to do today?"

"Nothing, I'm just going to stay here. I'm going to go take a shower." Bella said once she had put her glass in the strainer.

"Okay." Alice said with a nod.

"You can stay down here. I don't think anything will happen with you in the house."

"I'll keep an ear out." Alice said as she walked into the living room.

Bella started the shower then went to her room to get clothes. Downstairs was silent as she closed the bathroom door. She didn't even lock the door; she didn't want to give Alice a reason to worry. She was down to her underwear when she noticed that the window was open. Her dad must have finally gotten around to scraping the paint from the window sill so he could repaint it. Sure enough, he had left the ladder underneath the window.

She dressed quickly before quietly going back to her room to get her shoes. She climbed down trying to be aware of her surroundings but keeping her thoughts to herself. The last thing she needed was to have Alice find out that she was making a getaway. Using her truck was out of the question. Alice would definitely hear it. She would just have to walk to where she was going.

XXXX

Jacob hadn't gotten any sleep again last night. His body was bone tired, but he couldn't make his mind shut off. Everything that he had said to Bella yesterday ran through his head on replay. He wished that he had handled things differently. He held so much guilt because he knew that Bella couldn't help what was happening any more than he could. If anyone was going to be with her in her time of need it was going to be him. He had made that known last night when he talked to Carlisle over the phone.

He wasn't ready to see her. He was going pull himself together and he would go and see her later. He needed to get his head on straight first. He knew just the place to get some thinking done where he would be left alone.

XXXX

Alice had gone upstairs to check on Bella an hour after she had gotten in the shower. She heard the shower running as she made her way up the stairs. Fear gripped her as she ran the rest of the way to the bathroom. What if something had happened to her? Had she slipped and hit her head? She would have seen something like that.

She turned the knob to the bathroom slowly as she called Bella's name.

"You're going to freeze. Turn the water off." Alice said not looking into the shower as she crossed the room to close the window.

That was when she saw the ladder just under the window. She ran out of the room to cross the hall to Bella's room. She glanced quickly around the room and didn't see anything missing. She crossed the room to the closet when she noticed that the door was ajar. Bella's shoes were gone. She ran down the stairs and onto the front porch to see that Bella's truck was still in the driveway.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the first number on her contact list.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked once he answered the phone.

"She's gone." she said in a panicked voice.

"Who's gone?" he asked.

"Bella is gone. I never saw it. She's on foot." she said quietly.

"I'll have Emmett comb the woods. Edward will have to go down to the reservation. I'll be there in two minutes."

Alice hung up, glad that Carlisle was being rational about the situation. Her mind was running in all different directions. How could Bella have done something like this? Didn't she realize how dangerous it was for her to be alone? Where could she have gone?

Carlisle opened the front door to find Alice folded into a ball on the couch.

"This is all my fault." she said in shame.

"No it isn't. Don't think like that."

"If I had been paying more attention this would not have happened." she said as she shook her head.

"Who is on patrol for the wolves today?"

"Jared and Leah, I've already talked to them. They didn't see or hear her leave. Jacob is going to be so angry with me." she said as her face fell.

"No he won't. He will understand that this was something that you had no control over. Would you like me to call Jasper?"

Alice nodded her head as she looked down at her hands. Wherever Bella was she hoped that she was safe.

XXXX

Jacob looked out over the ocean with his phone in his hand. It was ringing for the third time in ten minutes. It was Rachel again. He had asked her not to call him and so far that afternoon she had called him six times. He was contemplating throwing the phone into the water. He heaved a sigh of relief once it stopped ringing. He would have to have a talk with Rachel about respecting his privacy later.

Rachel wasn't the only person who had called him. Sam had called him a couple of times and Paul had called him several times himself which wasn't normal. Of all the people who had called him the one person he hadn't wanted to talk to hadn't called. He didn't know what he would have done if Bella had called him.

The feeling of regret still had him in its grip but at least he wasn't thinking of Bella as much. He hoped that she would be happy with the decision that he had made. He had a feeling that she would be.

His phone rang again and he glanced at it quickly. It was Carlisle. Even he had been calling him nonstop. He turned the phone off once it stopped ringing then sat it at his feet on the sand. Maybe he could come up with a decent apology for Bella now that he wouldn't be distracted.

XXXX

Carlisle shut his phone with a shake of his head. Jasper held a still distraught Alice in his arms as Carlisle sat in the recliner once more.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Six." Jasper answered.

"She's been missing for nine hours. Why hasn't someone found her?" Alice asked.

"I don't know." Carlisle said with a shake of his head.

"Do you think that Victoria could have her?" Alice asked in a scared voice.

"Possibly." Carlisle said gravely.

"Don't think like that. She's out there somewhere. We just aren't looking hard enough." Edward said as he came into the room.

"No one has been able to pick up her scent."

"But we haven't picked up Victoria's either."

"There was an hour window after Bella left that Victoria could have taken her." Jasper said as he tried to reason with him.

"Try Jacob again." Edward pleaded with Carlisle.

"He's turned his phone off." Carlisle said with a sigh.

"I'm going down to the reservation again." Edward said as he turned towards the door.

"Please be careful. Sam said that he would handle everything there." Alice said quietly.

"I'll call him and let him know that I am coming." he said as he shut the front door.

"We have to think of something to tell Charlie in case we don't find her before he comes home." Jasper said.

"Can you mimic her handwriting Alice?"

"I can try." Alice said with a nod.

"I'll see if I can find something that has her handwriting on it." Jasper said before rising from the couch.

Alice could copy anyone's handwriting as long as she had something with their handwriting on it in front of her. It was one of her hidden talents that she had from childhood. Jasper came back with the grocery list from the kitchen. Alice tore a page out of a notebook on the coffee table and began testing out Bella's handwriting.

"Where should we say she is?"

"With us?" Jasper offered.

"Charlie would just come and get her." Carlisle said with a shake of his head.

"Well we can't tell him that she's with Jacob." Alice said as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Maybe you should say that she's with Sam. I'll go outside and have Edward let him know." Jasper said as he stood.

Carlisle nodded in agreement as Alice started writing a quick note to Charlie. Edward came back in a minute later and sat next to Jasper.

"What did Sam say?" Jasper asked.

"No one has seen her. He has the entire pack except for the two in the woods looking for her. Sam has been looking for Bella and Jacob on the reservation all day."

"Who is on patrol right now?" Carlisle asked.

"Embry and Quil, they relieved Leah and Jared while I was outside." Edward answered.

"You don't think that Bella and Jacob are together, do you?" Alice asked.

"They might be. I hope to God that they are." Carlisle answered.

The room was silent as the grandfather clock in the corner struck six thirty. They would need to leave soon. They didn't want to be there when Charlie got home. The last thing they wanted was to raise a red flag and let him know that something had happened.

XXXX

Sam walked down the beach hoping that Jacob was where he thought he might be. It was the only place he hadn't looked. No one knew exactly where his and Bella's spot was, so he had been combing the entire beach for the past two hours. He saw a flash of white a few hundred yards ahead of him and he sighed in relief.

"Jacob!" he called.

The person turned to look at him and he took off at a run towards them.

"Do you know how many people have been trying to get in touch with you today?"

"I figured my voice mail message would have let everybody know that I wanted to be left alone. Can't anybody take a hint?" he seethed.

"Something has happened."

"What now?" he asked as he rolled his eyes.

"Bella has been missing since this morning."

"What?" he choked out.

"Alice didn't see it. Where ever she is, she's on foot. Everybody has been looking for her and there's no sign of her anywhere."

"Has anybody tried calling her phone?" he asked pulling his out of his pocket.

"It's on her desk."

"I'm going to her house." Jacob said as he shook his head.

"The Cullen's are there. I need you here with me. Is there anywhere that you can think of that she might be?"

"Here, but I haven't seen her."

"Check your messages; maybe somebody who has called you has seen her."

He listened to his messages and the first one was from Rachel.

"Hey, I don't know where you are, but Bella is here. She let herself in while I was at work. She doesn't look so good. Come home as soon as you get this."

He shut his phone and shook his head.

"Did you think to check my house?"

"I checked your house once every hour personally until Rachel got home."

"And you didn't notice anything?"

"I've gone in and checked."

"Not good enough, unless she hid."

"Go home. I'll call the Cullen's."

Jacob ran the mile and a half to his house and was there in less than thirty seconds. He threw open the front door and Rachel came out of the living room.

"She's in the bedroom."

"How did Sam miss her?"

"I'll let you figure that out for yourself. She's sleeping, so be quiet."

"Is she alright?"

"She was coherent and asking for you until half an hour ago. I got her to eat something because she hadn't eaten all day."

"Thank you." he said hugging her.

"You're welcome. Where were you?"

"I needed to be alone. It was stupid and I shouldn't have done it." he said letting go of her.

He walked the short distance to the bedroom and opened the door silently. The overhead light was on and he noticed that she was asleep over top of the covers. She was wearing one of his shirts and a pair of his basketball shorts. That was why Sam hadn't picked up on her scent. Jacob's scent was masking it and Sam hadn't thought to check the bedroom since he couldn't smell her.

He stripped down to his boxers before turning out the light. He moved her gently so that she was against the wall before getting into bed. She stirred as the bed shook. She lifted her head to look at him through bleary eyes.

"Go back to sleep." he said as he turned on his side to face her.

"It's about damn time you got here. I've been waiting for you all day." she said sleepily.

"Sorry. I'll never make you wait for me again." he said kissing her forehead.

"I love you." she said quietly.

"I love you too." he said as he draped an arm over her waist.

She moved closer to him and he placed his chin on the top of her head. He never wanted to worry about her the way he just had ever again. He couldn't believe how selfish and stubborn he had been. He drifted off to sleep to the sound of her gentle breathing. All of their problems could be put on hold until tomorrow.


	12. Feels Like Tonight

**Disclaimer: I own Twilight!**

**Jacob: Here we go again.**

**M: I own you!**

**J: Is your name Stephenie Meyer?**

**M: It could be if I changed my name.**

**J: Let me know when that happens. Then we'll talk about you owning me.**

**M: Thank you for letting me down easy.**

**J: She also doesn't own the title for this chapter. She borrowed it from a Daughtry song. Which this chapter is based on.**

**AN: Sorry for the silly disclaimer. I'm a little hyp****er right now.**** I'm watching (500) Days of Summer. I'm kind of infatuated with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I have been for years.**** I**** also**** wanted to let you all know that this chapter contains lemon.**

Bella woke up to feel Jacobs arms tightly wrapped around her. Her back was hurting from being pressed flush against the wall all night and she couldn't stretch no matter how hard she tried. She squirmed in his arms until he let go of his grip on her. He rolled over in his sleep and she was able to slide to the end of the bed to get to her clothes. She changed back into her clothes quietly before leaving the room.

She looked into the living room to see that Rachel wasn't there. It was too early for Rachel to be up so she must have stayed with Paul. Bella made her way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee then went in search of something to make for breakfast. After searching through all of the cabinets, the pantry, the refrigerator, and the freezer she came to the realization that there was nothing there that would satisfy Jacob's hunger. She would have to go to the store.

At the store a few minutes later she saw Embry stocking shelves. She made her way to him silently. She slid her hands over his eyes before leaning in.

"Guess who." she whispered.

"Could it be the girl who scared the living daylights out of everybody yesterday?" he asked in a teasing manner.

"Sorry about that." she said pulling her hands away.

"It's cool. We should have known that you would go to Jake's. Is he with you?"

"No. He hasn't slept in three days, so I'm letting him sleep in."

He nodded as they walked down the aisle. She went one way and he went another as she continued shopping. Someone came to stand next to her when she was in line ten minutes later.

"Hey stranger." Jessica said getting her attention.

"Hey." Bella said with a smile.

"What have you been up to?"

"Not much. I'm just trying to lay low." she said with a shrug.

"This is a good place to do it." Jessica said with a nod.

"What are you doing here?"

"A bunch of us are going surfing, do you want to come?" she asked giving her a questioning look.

"I don't think so. I had planned on spending the day with Jake." Bella said shaking her head.

"How is he doing?" she asked as they moved up in line.

"He's doing good. He started working at the bike shop in town a few weeks ago."

"The one across the street from Newton's?"

"That's the one."

"Do you want to do something with me tomorrow night? I could invite everybody else. I haven't seen you in forever." she prodded.

"That would be great." Bella said with a nod.

"You could invite Jake."

"He has to help a friend of his work on their car." she said giving her an apologetic look.

"That's cool. Invite anybody you want."

Bella let Jessica go first because she only had a few things. Quil and Bella talked while he rang up Jessica's things and she introduced Jessica to him.

Bella was unloading the groceries at Jacob's ten minutes later. She decided to make herself a cup of coffee before she started cooking. She had been worried about Jacob all day yesterday. Rachel had kept her up to date on what was going on. Rachel had wanted to call Sam as soon as she found Bella but Bella had pleaded with her not to. She hadn't wanted anyone to know that she was there until she got a chance to see Jacob.

She was frying bacon when the bedroom door opened an hour later. She heard Jacob go into the bathroom and a few minutes later he came into the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind before leaning down to kiss behind her ear.

"Good morning." she said kissing the corner of his mouth.

"Morning." he mumbled.

She set the fork down before turning in his arms. She leaned up to kiss him lightly before pulling away.

"Why aren't you still wearing my clothes? They looked good on you." he said with a pout.

"I had to go to the store. I couldn't wear your clothes." She said logically.

"Have you called your dad?"

"No, shit." she groaned.

"You might want to call Sam's and see if he's called there."

"Is that where he thinks I am?" she asked.

"Would you rather have him know the truth?"

"Good point. I need to use your phone."

"It's on the table." he said pointing behind him.

Jacob turned the bacon while she was on the phone. Her dad had called Sam's when he got home last night. Emily had told him that Bella had gone for a walk with Rachel and that she would tell Bella that he called. Sam had told her not to call Jacob's because he didn't want them to be bothered. Bella dialed her house and her dad picked up on the first ring.

"Bella?" he asked.

"Hey dad."

"Did Emily not tell you that I called last night?" he asked hurriedly.

"Rachel and I decided to go by her boyfriends for dinner and by the time I got back Emily and Sam were already in bed. She just told me." she explained calmly.

"And Jake is there?"

"Yes sir."

"Okay. I'm working a short shift today so I'll be home by six. I want you to be here when I get home. I've hardly seen you this week." he said with concern.

"I'll be there when you get home." she promised.

"Without Jake." he said pointedly.

"Jake will not be with me." she promised.

"I'll see you later."

Jacob was giving her a hurt look when she turned off the phone a few seconds later.

"What?"

"He doesn't want me there?" he asked quietly.

"He hasn't seen me that much recently. And when he has you've been with me ninety percent of the time. He wants some alone time." she said with a shrug.

"Can I still come over tonight?"

"You have me until five thirty today. If you came over tonight I wouldn't ask you to leave."

"You'd better not." he said as he walked the short distance to her.

She wrapped her arms around his waist as she looked up at him.

"Thank you for talking to Carlisle."

"I asked Alice not to tell you." he said with a frustrated sigh.

"I was upset. She told me to try and calm me down." she explained rationally.

"I don't want to be accused of not looking out for you again and I want to spend all of my time with you anyway. It was a win/win situation."

"Where were you yesterday?"

"I was at our spot."

"I almost went there." she said as she shook her head in wonder.

"It wouldn't have been pretty. I was out of it."

"What do you want to do today?"

"Absolutely nothing except spend time with you."

She smiled up at him before leaning up to brush her lips to his. She sighed against his lips as he cupped her face in his hands. She pulled away after a few seconds.

"I have an idea of what we can do today." she said, her eyes lighting up playfully.

"What's that?" he asked.

"You'll find out after breakfast. You're going to need all the energy you can get." she said pushing him away from her.

"I can guess what it is." he said as she started cracking eggs in a bowl.

"I am pretty smart aren't I?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder.

"You're a genius." he said as he came to sit next to her on the counter.

They sat down to breakfast five minutes later and he was shoveling food into his mouth without even chewing it. Bella had never seen Jacob eat so fast.

"You know, it isn't very appealing to watch you do that." she said in a teasing tone.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

"Just don't do it again." she said putting a hand on his free hand.

They continued eating in silence and a few minutes later they were back in his room.

"It's up to you to figure out what we're doing for the rest of the day."

"I'm already ahead of you. Rounds two and three will happen later with some pillow talk in between." he said pulling her flush to him.

"It's good to know I'm not the only genius in this relationship." she said as she leaned in to kiss him.

Her hands went between them to push his boxers down as he slowly pushed her shorts down her hips. She broke the kiss long enough to pull her shirt over her head and her bra off before his lips were on hers again. She pushed him back onto the bed before laying over him. Her hands trailed down his body saving every curve and line of his abs for memory before grabbing hold of his erection.

She started a slow pumping motion as his hands fisted in her hair. Their tongues slid over each other in a slow battle for dominance. His hands left her hair to push down her underwear. He slid a finger into her folds and she pushed him away. She pulled away from him before shaking her head.

"I want to make up for all the stress that you've been going through." she said, her eyes meeting his.

She kissed his forehead before reaching between them again. Her thumb grazed over the head of his erection to feel precum ooze from the slit. She pulled away from him, leaving a trail of kisses down his stomach until she was inches from his erection. She took him into her mouth and he growled from deep in his throat.

She moved in slow meticulous strokes. She wanted to draw things out for as long as she could. Jacob let out a content sigh and her eyes moved to look at him. His eyes were closed, but his face was relaxed with a smile tugging at his lips. He was enjoying everything that she was doing to him. She loved knowing that she could get that kind of reaction out of him.

He slid from her mouth before she made her way back up to him. His hands fisted in her hair before he opened his eyes. She leaned down to kiss him and he tightened his grip on her hair to keep her there. The kiss grew heated as she ground her pelvis against his. He pulled away from her to meet her gaze again.

"There's a box of condoms in the nightstand." he said.

She opened the drawer with one hand and felt around until her fingers grazed the box. She pulled it out and he held his hand out.

"When did you go to get these?"

"They're Paul's." he said opening the box.

He tore open the wrapper and she moved off of him so that he could put it on. It wasn't the right fit, but it wasn't small enough that it would matter.

"I'll bring the ones from my house the next time I come over." she said before rolling over on top of him again.

She reached in between them to guide him into her before sitting up. Her hands rested on his stomach as she started a steady rocking motion. He was able to lift himself off the bed to match the rhythm as his hands rested on her hips. Her eyes met his once more and she saw the look of adoration and love that he was giving her.

"I love you." she said with a smile.

"I love you more." he said huskily.

She laughed breathlessly as she shook her head. She leaned down to brush her lips to his gently and he wrapped a hand around her neck to keep her there. The pace from before continued as she gave into the kiss. His hands moved down her sides to rest at the small of her back. She broke the kiss but kept her forehead to his.

He rolled them over deftly and she glared at him.

"I am not going to let this be all about me." he said with a shake of his head.

"You can't let me do what I want, just once?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I did, now it's my turn." he said giving her a lustful look.

She shook her head wondering why he couldn't let her show him how much she loved him. Next time she wouldn't give in. He leaned down to her breast to brush his fingers over them in a feather light touch. His mouth followed the trail his fingers had just made before latching onto a nipple. She moaned lightly as he twisted her other nipple between his fingers.

He moved up her body, kissing the hollow of her neck making her breath hitch. He applied pressure, using his teeth to gently pull at the skin. She hissed when he applied more pressure and bit down hard enough to leave a mark. He was giving her another hickey. His tongue moved across her neck slowly making her moan in appreciation.

He smiled against her neck before picking up the pace. She gripped the sheets as she leaned up to meet his thrusts. He kissed her neck lightly before pulling away. He smirked as his eyes met hers. She quirked an eyebrow and his smile widened.

"Really?" she asked exasperatedly.

"There's no hiding it." he said with a shake of his head.

"You are so getting it later." she threatened.

"Is that a threat?" he asked with a laugh.

"It's a promise." she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He wiggled his eyebrows as he continued to smile down at her. She laughed lightly before sighing. She could feel her orgasm building and she willed it to go away, she wasn't ready for things to be over yet. He slipped in and out of her at a slow pace, wanting to take his time. He could feel that he was close so that meant that she probably was too.

He groaned as his seed spilled into the condom. He kept moving, not wanting to pull out yet. Bella's toes curled and she moaned his name as her orgasm hit her full force. She could feel his heart thudding against hers as they both came back to reality.

Once she had caught her breath she tried to push him off of her. He rolled off of her reluctantly and she reached for his shirt.

"Why are you getting dressed? I had planned on us staying naked all day." he asked as he tried to pull her back to him.

"I'll be right back. You won't even have time to miss me." she said before kissing him quickly.

She walked to the bathroom in just his shirt. She felt around for the light switch before squinting under the harsh light. Her eyes went to her reflection in the mirror and immediately she saw the damage that he had done. He was right; there was no way of hiding it. No amount of makeup would cover the dark purple silver dollar sized hickey that covered the entire right side of the hollow of her neck.

Jacob came to stand behind her and his arms slid over her shoulders to rest on her stomach. His chin rested on her shoulder and her eyes met his in the mirror.

"You have a huge mouth." she said in concern.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

She turned in his arms before sitting on the counter.

"You don't need to be sorry." she said as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Your dad is going to kill me." he groaned.

"He's going to try to kill you. Especially after he sees the matching one that you'll have." she said with a shake of her head.

He picked her up and carried her back to the room as she pulled his shirt from over her head. He laid her down on the bed and stared down at her lovingly.

"I don't feel like waiting. Round two starts now."

"You are so romantic. How did I ever get so lucky?" she asked as she rolled her eyes.

He laughed lightly before reaching into the still open drawer for the box of condoms. Bella would do whatever he wanted, he knew that, and he was going to take advantage of it.

XXXX

Jacob reached blindly for his phone in the dark. He knew exactly who it was, and they were going to be pissed.

"Hello?" he asked his voice still thick with sleep.

"She had better be on her way home." Charlie said in a stressed tone.

"We fell asleep. I can have her there in an hour." he explained.

"You've got forty five minutes. And you aren't staying." Charlie warned.

"Yes sir."

"I mean it Jacob, if she isn't here in forty five minutes I am coming down there." Charlie threatened.

"I'll have her there, I promise."

Charlie hung up and Jacob fell back against the pillows. He got out of bed to turn on the overhead light and Bella threw the blanket over her head.

"I have to get you home."

"I thought we decided that Embry was going to take me home." she said tiredly.

"There's no time. Your dad just called."

"What time is it?" she asked as her head came out from under the blanket.

He picked his phone up again and he groaned.

"It's almost eight."

"Shit!" she said as she pulled herself from under the covers.

She dressed quickly while he searched for his shirt.

"It's probably still in the bathroom." she said as she pulled on her shoes.

She followed him into the bathroom and sat on the counter while he put his shirt on. The hickey on his chest was almost as big as the one on her neck.

"Maybe next time we should just get matching tattoos. I don't think my dad will be able to handle seeing a new hickey every time we have sex."

"That's not a bad idea." he said in agreement.

She took one of his hands in hers and led him out of the house as soon as he had pulled his shirt over his head. She kept hold of his hand as he drove down the highway towards Forks. He drove the fastest that he had ever driven and pulled into her driveway with ten minutes to spare. She turned towards him before leaning over the middle compartment. She kissed him quickly before opening her door.

"I'll call you once he's asleep." she said before getting out.

"I love you." he called before she shut the door.

"I love you more." she called just before the door shut.

He watched her walk up the walkway and the door opened before she got to the stairs. He pulled out of the driveway when he saw Charlie leaning against the doorjamb.

Bella slowly made her way up the stairs. She looked over her shoulder as Jacob drove off.

"Is that a hickey on your neck?" Charlie asked getting her attention.

She closed her eyes with a sigh. She knew that telling him was going to be hard, he was already mad at her; he was going to be livid when he found out that she was sexually active. The topic of sex had always been awkward for them.

"Yes it is." she said as her eyes met his.

Charlie ran a hand down his face as he opened the door wider.

"Come inside." he said quietly.

"I can explain." she said once the door closed.

"Then do it." he said in a clipped tone.

"I was at Jacob's last night. I'm sorry that I lied, but I knew that you wouldn't let me go over there."

"You're right; I wouldn't have, because I know what would have happened. And I'm right, aren't I?" he asked with a questioning gaze.

"Yes." she said with a nod.

"Did you stop to think about the fact that he is a still a minor? What if Billy decides to press charges?" he asked quickly.

"He won't."

"How do you know?" he asked giving her an unsure look.

"Because he said he wouldn't."

"How does he already know?" he asked as his voice raised.

"Today wasn't the first time that we've slept together." she said quietly.

"What about the night that he stayed here? Did the two of you sleep together then?" he asked.

"Yes." she said as she looked down at her hands.

"Jesus Bells! He is not allowed over here when I am not here and you aren't allowed over there unless Billy is home. Not until I can trust the two of you." he said as his face turned red in anger.

Bella nodded, glad that he wasn't mad. He could have given her more rules, but she was thankful that he hadn't. His new rule would make Jacob's keeping watch on her a little more difficult. Jacob would have to keep his distance from Charlie for a while. They would work it out that night. She wasn't going to think about it right then. She was going to spend time with her dad like he wanted her do. She couldn't deny him that.


	13. A Swift Blow to the Stomach

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

Jacob had gotten an earful from Billy when he got home on Sunday morning. Billy had laid down some rules of his own. Once the newborns and Victoria were out of the picture Jacob was grounded for a month. During that month he was not allowed to leave the house unless he was running patrol. There was going to be some distance between he and Bella, because both parents agreed that things were getting too serious too fast. Billy didn't want to be a grandfather again before he was forty.

Bella had been able to talk her dad into letting her go over to Jacob's once he had confirmed that Billy was there. They sat on the couch watching TV while Billy made dinner. Rachel and Hannah were in the bedroom when Rachel called Jacob's name. He came to stand at the door and she held up an unopened box of condoms.

"I used the last three in the box."

"That's why you're under house arrest?" Rachel asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Jacob shoved his hands in his pockets before nodding.

"Well at least you used protection."

"Wait, you and Paul are the same size?" Hannah asked.

"Can we not get into that?" Jacob asked as he rolled his eyes.

"Just answer me something. Was the condom too small?" she asked as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"I don't want to know that!" Rachel said as she threw a pillow at Hannah.

"Then cover your ears."

"I don't want to answer that." he said laughing lightly.

"That gives me the answer I wanted. You're being nice." Hannah said giving him a teasing smile.

"La, la, la, la, la!" Rachel sang as she shoved a finger in each ear.

"Rachel! Keep it down." Billy called from the kitchen.

Someone knocked on the door and Rachel pushed Jacob aside so that she could answer it. She only opened it enough that she could see the person outside.

"Hey Dad, do we want to subscribe to the paper?" she called.

"What?" Billy asked as he poured spaghetti sauce into a pot.

"Very funny Rach." The person outside murmured.

"There's a reporter outside who wants to ask Hannah some questions." she explained.

"What?" Hannah asked from the bedroom.

"Do we have to do this every time you see me?" The person asked.

"What are you talking about Rachel?" Billy asked from behind the door.

He pulled the door open to see the person on the porch. The boy pushed his shaggy brunette hair out of his ocean blue eyes with one hand and waved with the other. Billy shook his head as he moved out of the way to let the boy in.

"I should have known who it was when she started making the newspaper references. Hannah, Ryan is here."

Ryan passed Billy but was not able to pass Rachel before she threw her arms around his neck.

"Give me a hug Clark." she said as Hannah walked down the hall.

Ryan hugged her tightly but let go when Hannah came to stand next to them. He adjusted his thin wire rim glasses as he took in her appearance.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need to talk to you. In private." he said in a serious tone.

"I guess we could go to the beach. Let me go get my shoes on."

Rachel pulled Ryan into the living room and he sat in the love seat while she sat on the arm next to him.

"Ryan this is Bella, she's Jake's girlfriend."

"Hi." Bella said with a kind smile.

"Hey." Ryan said shyly.

"You know Jake." Rachel said as Jacob walked back into the room.

"No Rachel, I don't." Ryan said shaking his head.

"Smart ass. They've only known each other since kindergarten." Rachel said to Bella.

"He's Hannah's brother." Jacob said quietly.

"The two of you look nothing alike." Bella said with a light laugh.

"She looks like our mom and I look like our dad."

It was true that Hannah and Ryan didn't look like they could be brother and sister. She was short with light brown hair and had hazel eyes while he was tall with dark hair and blue eyes. Jacob, Ryan, Embry, and Quil had been friends until Rachel and Hannah left to go to college. It was around that time that his parents problems had started to escalate. He hadn't wanted to let his friends know that there were problems at home so he had alienated himself from the three of them. It was a mistake that he wished he hadn't made. Things were still shaky between Jacob and Ryan and neither had wanted their sisters to know. So they would be nice to each other for now.

XXXX

The stretch of beach that Hannah and Ryan sat on was secluded away from everyone else. He was silent as they both looked out over the ocean.

"What's going on? Are you having girl troubles?" she teased.

"I'm not dating anyone right now." he said with a shake of his head.

"Are you having a problem with Jake?" she asked in concern.

"Jake, Quil, Embry, and I haven't spoken much since you and Rachel left." he said as he shook his head while looking down at his hands.

"Why?" she asked as her face fell.

"It's my fault, not theirs."

"I'm dating Embry; I should have told you that sooner."

"I'll be nicer to him." he promised.

"What is going on?" she asked with a sigh.

"You promised me that when you graduated that you would come home."

"I come and see you and Jasmine all the time." she said in defense.

"Mom is starting to ask about you." he explained.

"It only took her a month." she said with a shake of her head.

"She's our mom H, cut her some slack." he reasoned.

"Do you still plan on taking off once you graduate?"

"Yeah." he said with a nod.

"Do me a favor. Don't come back. You'll only go back to the way you are now. I don't like seeing you like this." she pleaded with him.

"But it's okay for you to come back?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I haven't shut myself off from everyone else. Hasn't she talked to you about going to see a therapist?"

"Dad has."

"Why won't you live with dad?"

"His new girlfriend is only three years older than you. She acts like she's already my stepmom." he said with a strangled sigh.

"Then I will go over there and talk to him about it." she said with a sigh.

"Will you please come home?" he asked again.

"Fine, but I swear, if she tries to start one argument or she tries to control my life I am gone." she said with a huff.

"Thank you." he said with a sigh of relief.

Neither of them saw the person in the ocean. Only their head and shoulders broke the surface of the water. They hadn't been there when she had jumped off the cliff twenty minutes before. She was stuck in the water until they left. She wished that she hadn't jumped naked. Ryan pushed his hair out of his eyes and she was able to get a look at his face. She took in a sharp breath as the wind was knocked out of her. She felt the sand fall out from beneath her and she had to struggle not sink. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was just her imagination. The boy couldn't be who she thought it was. She hadn't seen him in over four years.

Hannah stood with Ryan's help and the two of them walked back towards the cliffs and Leah waited until they had rounded the corner before coming out of the water. She made her way back to the top of the cliffs quickly. She would have to go and see Sam and Emily later.

XXXX

Bella heard the bell above the door jingle as she was sweeping the back hall.

"Hello?" Embry called.

"I'm back here." she called.

Embry came to lean against the arch way that separated the store and the hall. Mike could be heard shuffling around in the office and he stuck his head out when Bella put the broom and dust pan in the closet. Technically she was off the clock, but she had told Mike that she would help him close the store tonight.

"Who's this?"

"This is my friend Embry. He's going to hang out with us tonight. Embry, this is Mike."

"Hey." Embry said with a wave.

"What's up?" Mike asked with a nod.

"Not much."

The bell rang again and the three of them walked towards the front of the store. Jessica, Angela, Ben, Eric, and Tyler were walking down the stairs. The guys met Mike at the counter and he introduced all of them to Embry.

"Who is he?" Jessica asked.

"His name is Embry. You said that I could invite anyone I wanted."

"I did. How do you know him?"

"He's best friends with Jake. He's like a little brother to me."

"I have a little brother, and he isn't that cute." Angela mumbled.

"Is he single?" Jessica asked hopefully.

Jessica and Mike were on a break and Bella knew that if she set Jessica up with a date that Mike would be hurt.

"He has a girlfriend."

"Are the three of you ready to go?" Mike asked as he walked over to them.

Jessica and Angela walked behind everyone else and they were talking behind their hands. Bella couldn't hear what they were saying, but Embry more than likely could.

"What are they saying?"

"The blond says that I have a nice ass." he said just loud enough for her to hear.

"I should have warned you that Jessica is a little boy crazy." she said laughing quietly.

"That's the girl who has a thing for Jake?"

"Yep."

Embry looked over his shoulder and Jessica gave him a smile. He smiled back before turning his head back around.

"You're prettier than she is." he said pointedly.

"No comment about her best assets?" she teased.

He looked over his shoulder again quickly and shook his head.

"Rachel's are bigger." he said with no emotion.

"What am I gonna do with you? You are terrible." Bella said with a laugh.

He draped an arm over her shoulders with a grin as he pulled her to him. She draped an arm over his shoulders as she fell into step with him. The rest of the guys were a few steps ahead of them and Mike looked over his shoulder at them.

"My Jeep can seat five. Who wants to ride with me?"

"We will if you want to." Embry said as he looked down at Bella.

"That's fine."

"We will too." Jessica said, pointing to her and Angela.

"Is it okay if we take your car Ben? Mine's low on gas and I only enough for the movie and dinner." Tyler asked.

"That's fine." Ben said as he looked at Angela.

She shrugged her shoulders before she climbed into the back seat behind Bella. Embry sat up front with Jessica behind him.

"So Embry, how old are you?" Jessica asked.

"I turned eighteen a few weeks ago."

"That's cool. Will you be a senior like Jake this year or have already graduated?"

"I'll be a senior."

"That sucks that you've still got a year left. I am so glad to be done with school." Mike said as he started the truck.

"So says the guy who doesn't plan on going to college and wants to work at his parents store for the rest of his life." Jessica said with a laugh.

"Are you going to go to college Embry?" Angela asked.

"I had planned on it. I don't know where yet."

"Embry was number one in his class this past year." Bella said with pride.

"Yeah? I graduated at the top of our class." Jessica said.

"I know. I was at your graduation." Embry said with a nod.

"Enough about school, how do you deal with Jake? Isn't he really territorial?" Mike asked.

"Not really. I've been friends with him pretty much my entire life."

"Didn't I tell you that Mike?" Bella asked.

"I don't think you did. He doesn't like me very much." Mike said his mouth forming a tight line.

"What did you do?"

"He hasn't mentioned me? I'm the guy who threw up in his car." he answered as if it were an achievement instead of something bad.

"He hasn't told me about you. How did that happen?" Embry asked with intrigue.

"I had the flu." Mike said dismissively.

"Are you sure that you didn't do something else? It takes a lot to make Jake not like someone." Embry prodded.

"I liked Bella for a while. But that's in the past." Mike said bashfully.

"You really threw up in the Rabbit?" Embry questioned.

"He threw up in a popcorn bucket. It was the night that I went to the movies with Jake. Mike was the other guy who went." Bella explained.

"Oh." Embry said as the news sunk in.

"Did something else bad happen that night?" Jessica asked.

"That was the night that Jake found out that he had Mono. It isn't his favorite night to look back on." Bella said quietly.

The subject was closed as they pulled up to the movie theater. Bella had tried to get Jacob to ease up on Mike since that night. Jacob had finally realized that Mike wasn't a threat and had promised that he would try harder to be nice to him.

Inside the theater Ben and Angela sat alone while everyone else sat up in the balcony.

"Ben and Angela are dating?" Embry asked Bella quietly once the movie started.

She nodded as her phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her pocket. Jacob had texted her.

Text me when you and Embry get back to your house was all it said.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she shut her phone. The plan was that Embry was going to stay at her house so that Jacob could have the night off and Bella could have a little normalcy.

XXXX

Hannah stood on the porch at Sam and Emily's and waited patiently for someone to answer the door. She heard someone on the other side of the door which made her look up. The person averted her gaze as she stepped back.

"Who is it Leah?" Emily asked from in the kitchen.

"It's Hannah." Leah said.

"I can come back." Hannah said before turning to leave.

"No, I was just about to call you and ask you to come over." Emily said as she came into view.

Hannah walked in, not looking at Leah.

"Have a seat Hannah." Emily said kindly.

"Why were you about to call me?"

"I have a couple questions for you, that's all." Emily said politely.

"Okay." Hannah answered, not knowing what to expect.

"Who were you on the beach with this afternoon?"

Hannah looked at Emily in confusion.

"I'll explain what's going on once you answer the question." Emily said putting a hand on hers.

"He's my brother."

"Oh dear God." Leah said under her breath.

"I want to know what's going on, and I want to know right now." Hannah said as she looked between the two of them.

"This may be hard for you to accept but Leah has imprinted on your brother."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Hannah asked with a scoff.

"I'm afraid not. He isn't the youngest imprint, but he will be the only male." Emily said soothingly.

"You've got to be shitting me!" Hannah shouted as she stood.

"Hannah please, sit down." Emily said calmly.

"Is this your way of getting back at me for not being scared of you or something?" Hannah accused as she glared at Leah.

"I didn't ask for this to happen." Leah answered as she glared right back at her.

"Getting angry isn't going to solve anything. Hannah please sit down." Emily said again.

Hannah sat down again with a shake of her head.

"You aren't going anywhere near him. Not if I have anything to say about it." Hannah warned.

"Hannah, why are you against Leah being with Ryan exactly? Is it only because of the way she has treated you?" Emily questioned.

"That's not the entire reason, but it is half of it." Hannah said nodding slowly. 

"What other reasons do you have?"

"Ryan is very fragile. He won't be able to handle it. Not the way a normal person would."

"Why is that?" Leah asked giving her a credulous look.

"Our mom isn't the most stable person in the world. She's been feeding him lies about our dad. She's tried to talk him out of his dream career. She won't be happy until he's a basket case like her." Hannah said with a sigh.

"She sounds lovely." Emily said with a sarcastic smile.

"She's cuckoo for coco puffs. Now, would you be able to handle that?" Hannah asked as she looked Leah in the eye.

"You of all people should know that I have problems of my own. I'm one break down away from the psych ward. Isn't that what you used to say?" Leah asked in disdain.

"Yes." Hannah said as she gave her an acid smile.

"Leah is trying to get her life in order. She knows that she has made some bad decisions in her teens. Can't you bury the hatchet?" Emily pleaded.

"She slashed my tires and keyed my car for our senior prank. I had to pay for it myself because I couldn't prove that it was her. I found out after we were out of school that it was her. Do you know how much something like that cost Leah?" she asked as she folded her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry." Leah quietly as she looked down at her hands.

"Please do not let her past transgressions reflect on the person she is today. She is trying to change." Emily said rationally.

"Come and talk to me again when she can prove it." Hannah as she stood again.

She walked to the door but it opened before she could reach for it. Sam stood in the door, blocking her from leaving.

"Excuse me." she said politely.

"Don't let her leave. She and Leah need to work out some issues." Emily warned.

"I'd rather not." Hannah said with a sigh.

"Is there a problem?" Sam asked.

"She has never given me anything but a hard time. I've come to expect it from her." Hannah said as she jerked her head towards Leah.

Sam looked at Emily in confusion.

"Leah has imprinted on Hannah's younger brother." Emily said.

"I see." Sam said with a nod.

He put a hand on Hannah's arm and gently led her to the table. He sat in between Hannah and Emily with his hand still on Hannah's arm. Leah ran a hand through her hair with a sigh. She hadn't wanted Sam to find out yet. He looked at her expectantly, because she had yet to say anything.

"Would you rather I imprint on your older brother? Or how about your baby sister? How old is she now?" Leah asked as she stared at Hannah.

"She's twelve, and I would rather not have you tied to my family at all." Hannah said through clenched teeth.

"She cannot help who she has imprinted on Hannah." Emily said.

"Not all of us can be as lucky as Jake and Embry." Leah said giving Hannah an icy glare.

"Leah, you aren't helping things." Sam said sternly.

"You said that he would be senior this year didn't you?" Emily asked Hannah.

Hannah nodded as she tried to calm down. Emily was right, getting angry wouldn't help things.

"How old is he?" Sam asked.

"Seventeen, he'll be eighteen in November." Hannah said with a sigh.

"So he'll be able to make his own decisions in a few months." Emily offered.

"Yes."

"Leah, I think that you should hold off until he is eighteen. Maybe by then you'll have a friendship built up with him and Hannah will trust you enough to know that you won't hurt him." Emily said.

"That might work." Hannah said with a shrug.

"She's going to need to come by your house to see him without your mom being suspicious. She doesn't sound like the type of person that would understand the situation." Emily said in concern.

"Yeah, no shit." Hannah mumbled.

"Can I go?" Leah asked.

"Go, we're done. Crisis averted." Emily said as she stood from the table.

Sam went upstairs and the shower could be heard as Hannah helped Emily clean the kitchen.

"So why did you come over here? I doubt you have telekinetic powers."

"I don't. I was looking for a friend to hang out with. Embry is out with Bella and Rachel and Paul are out on a date."

"They actually go out on dates?" Emily asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, he was wearing a tie and everything when he picked her up."

"I can't remember the last time Sam took me somewhere where I had to dress up." she said wistfully.

"The only time I ever got dressed up for a date was prom."

"Babe?" Sam called.

"Yeah?"

"There aren't any towels up here."

Emily went to the room underneath the stairs and came back with a basket full of towels. Muffled voices could be heard before Emily shrieked.

"Stop! Hannah is still downstairs." she laughed.

"No, I'm not." Hannah said as she walked to the door.

Sam carried Emily down the stairs sans towel and into their bedroom. Emily's laughter could be heard through the open windows. Hannah smiled, hoping that one day she and Embry would have a relationship like Sam and Emily's.

XXXX

Bella was going through her movies while Embry changed in the bathroom. They came into the hall at the same time and Charlie stuck his head out his door.

"It's good to know that you know other people other than Jake and Edward. Good to see you again Embry."

"You too, Charlie." Embry said as he passed him.

"'Night Dad." Bella called as she walked down the stairs.

Charlie's door shut and Embry opened his phone.

"You had better not be texting Hannah. I haven't texted Jake even though he asked me to." Bella warned.

"I wasn't texting Hannah. What movies did you bring down?"

"Meet the Parents, My Cousin Vinny, and Juno." she said as she sat them on the coffee table.

"You know I hate Juno." Jacob said from behind her.

Bella jumped three feet in the air but was able to hold back the scream that threatened to spill out.

"That's my cue to leave." Embry said as he put his shoes on.

"Be back by five." Jacob said as he passed him.

Bella turned around slowly and Jacob pulled her to him. She put a hand on his chest to stop him when he tried to lean down to kiss her. He still had his work clothes on.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"My dad thinks that I'm on patrol." he said as he tried to lean down again.

"Well my dad, who has a gun and knows how to use it is upstairs." she said as she foiled his plan again.

"Bells, I wanted to surprise you." he said with a sigh.

"Since you're here I guess you can stay." she said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"I'm gonna go change." he said heading for the downstairs bathroom.

"Me too." she said as she headed upstairs.

"It looks like you already have." he said looking down at her clothes.

"I'm going to change into something else." she explained.

In the two minutes it took her to change her dad came out of his room and could be heard going down the stairs. She opened her door wearing the clothes she had gone upstairs in.

"Where's Embry? I just came from downstairs." Charlie asked from the top of the stairs.

"He's probably still in the bathroom downstairs. That's where he was when I came up here."

"Goodnight."

"'Night…again." she said before heading downstairs.

Jacob was in the living room sitting on the couch in his boxers flipping through channels when she came into the room.

"I thought you were going to change." he said.

"I couldn't exactly wear what I was wearing in front of my dad." she said pulling her shirt over her head.

She pulled her boxers down slowly to reveal the cami/thong set that she had bought when she was shopping with Alice. She had yet to show it to him. She made her way over to him then pulled the remote from his hand and turned off the TV before straddling his lap. She leaned in to kiss his neck and he moaned.

"Do you have any idea how much you are torturing me right now?"

"I can feel it." she said against his neck.

"You aren't playing fair." he growled.

"I'm not playing at all. Feel free to do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" he asked.

"Except sex."

"You do like torturing me."

She grabbed hold of one of his hands and put it to her breast. His hand slipped beneath the lacy fabric to feel her warm skin underneath his fingers.

"Remember, no hickeys."

"Mean."

"When you can learn not to overdo it you can mark me as much as you want."

"I wouldn't overdo it if you didn't make those noises you make. It's a turn on."

"You'll just have to figure out other ways to please me."

"I like that idea." he said as his free hand slid down her side.

He cupped her through her underwear, but she pulled away before he could slip a finger inside. She crossed the room to the pallet on the floor. She got beneath the blanket and propped her head up with her hand.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?"

"Hell no." he said as he stood from the couch.

Bella held up the blanket so that he could climb underneath it and he immediately claimed her mouth. She sighed against his lips as his fingers traveled down her body once more. Within seconds he had two fingers inside of her. She bucked her hips to match his pace as her tongue swept over his. Her hands slid down his stomach to reach inside his boxers. He pulled them down as quickly as he could with one hand. She gripped him lightly before starting a slow pumping motion.

His moan was cut off by her mouth as the kiss grew more intense. His free hand fisted in her hair to keep her where she was. He added a third finger and their breathing was erratic as they continued at a frantic pace. Neither cared that it would be over soon; they just wanted to feel release.

She arched her body so that his fingers slipped farther inside of her as her orgasm hit her full force. She pulled away from the kiss and he threw his head back against the pillows with a heavy sigh. His seed covered her hand and his stomach.

"Hand me my shirt." she said quietly.

"Use my boxers. I have an extra pair in your room." he said as he handed them to her.

She cleaned him up before going upstairs to get his boxers for him. Once they were both settled beneath the blanket again she laid her head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her before closing his eyes.

"Goodnight."

"G'night." he said tiredly.

She kissed his chest before closing her eyes. His deep, even breathing lulled her to sleep a few minutes later. She hadn't realized how tired she was until he had fallen asleep. Tomorrow they were going to talk about how he felt that he needed to do everything himself. He was putting too much pressure on himself and it was starting to show.


	14. First Meetings and First Times

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**AN: Don't let the title fool you. This chapter does not contain lemon. I am also going to post pictures of the actors who the OC characters in ****this story are supposed to look like on my home page soon. That way you can get a better mental picture of them.**

Leah looked out across the field trying to find Ryan. She didn't know his number so she looked for a jersey that had his last name on it. She scanned the dugout first, because that was easiest. When she didn't see him she started looking out over the bases. With no luck she thought that she would have to wait until he came back in.

"He's the pitcher." Hannah said from behind her.

"So everything falls on his shoulders?" Leah asked in concern.

"Pretty much." Hannah said with a nod.

"Thank you for inviting me today." she said appreciatively.

"I figured that since you needed to be reintroduced to Ryan that I would introduce you to our mom. You're lucky; she's having a good day." Hannah said encouragingly.

"What does that mean?" Leah asked in confusion.

"It means that she isn't on anyone's case, so I'm having a good day too. Please don't ruin that." she said giving her pleading look.

"I'll try not to." she promised.

Hannah made her way back up the bleachers with Leah right behind her. Hannah sat in between her mom and Embry while Leah sat on the other side of Embry. The teams traded places as Hannah introduced Leah to her mother.

"It's nice to meet you." Leah said politely.

"You said her last name is Clearwater?" Sharon asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"Are you the same girl who gave Hannah trouble in High School?" Sharon asked turning in her seat.

"Yes ma'am, I am."

"People change Mom, give her a chance." Hannah said giving her mother a concerned look.

Sharon nodded as Ryan came up to bat. He struck out on the first swing but sent the ball sailing into the outfield on his second swing. His feet hit first base before the ball left the center fielder's hand.

"He's really fast." Leah said in astonishment.

"He can do better than that." Hannah answered.

"Why are you so quiet?" Leah asked nudging Embry.

"Sharon doesn't like me. I try to stay quiet most of the time." he answered loud enough for only her to him.

"We'll talk about that later." Leah said, giving him a hard look.

Embry nodded as his lips formed a hard line. Hannah had tried to talk to her mom about Embry. Sharon thought that he was too young for Hannah. Hannah would have to warn Leah about it before she started anything with Ryan.

Nothing else was said for the rest of the inning. When Ryan came up to bat in the last inning the pitcher threw the ball straight at him, nearly hitting him upside the head. He hit a fly ball on his second swing so far into the outfield that it took three people to retrieve it. He slid into home plate hands first as the catcher caught the ball. He was counted as safe and he brushed dirt off of him as he stood and walked back to the dugout.

"Wow." Leah said in astonishment.

"That's how he usually plays." Embry said.

"I'm going to have a talk with the coach for the other team after the game. That pitcher tried to hit him on purpose." Sharon said in concern.

"Don't Mom, it's part of the game. You would only embarrass Ryan." Hannah reminded her.

Once the game was over they waited for Ryan. He pulled his helmet off and ran a hand through his sweat slicked hair as he walked towards them. Leah couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was taller than she had originally thought. His chin length brunette hair fell in his eyes and he stubbornly pushed it back.

"Good game." Hannah said with a smile.

"Thanks." he said with a nod.

"Are you ready to go Mom?" Hannah asked as she turned her attention to their mother.

"Shouldn't we wait for Ryan?" Sharon asked, giving Hannah a startled look.

"He has his bike. It would be nice to have dinner waiting for him when he gets home, wouldn't it?" Hannah asked.

"Yes it would."

"Ryan this is Leah, Leah this is Ryan. You go to school with her brother Seth."

"Hi." Ryan said quietly as he looked down at his shoes.

"Hi." Leah said with a smile.

"Do you need a ride home Leah?" Sharon asked.

"No ma'am, I walked. I don't live far from here." Leah said with a shake of her head.

Hannah pulled Sharon off before she could say anything else. Embry followed close behind them with his hands in his pockets. Ryan watched Hannah, their mom, and Embry walk away. What had just happened? Hannah knew he didn't do well with people he just met and now he was left alone with Leah. He wasn't anti-social, just shy.

"That was a great home run. How fast do you think the ball was going?" Leah asked to break the silence.

His eyes drifted to hers as he smiled shyly.

"Seventy-five, maybe eighty miles." he said with a shrug.

"Have you ever hit anything faster than that?"

"I hit a ninety once. I haven't since then."

"That guy threw the ball at you on purpose, didn't he?" she asked, gesturing to the guy who was now walking towards the parking lot.

"Yeah. We've never gotten along." he said with a frustrated sigh.

"Well, you showed him." Leah said hoping to bolster his ego.

"I did, didn't I?" he asked with a laugh.

"So who's your favorite player?"

"Nolan Ryan."

"Who does he play for?"

"He doesn't anymore he used to play for the Texas rangers. Now he co-owns the team."

"Where do you want to go to college?"

"Wherever I can get a scholarship. That's what Hannah did." he said with a shrug.

"I don't remember her playing any sports when we were in school." Leah said shaking her head discouragingly.

"It was a National Merit scholarship."

"Oh. So what do you want to do after college?"

"Hopefully play pro ball. I plan on majoring in engineering so I have something to fall back on."

"That's a good idea."

"My mom doesn't think so. She worries that I might get hurt." he said rolling his eyes.

"That can happen even if you don't play sports." Leah said with a scoff.

"That's what I told her." he said in agreement.

They were in the parking lot before either of them realized it.

"How far do you live from here?" he asked as they stopped in front of his motorcycle.

"I only live a few miles from here."

"Do you want a ride?" he asked holding the helmet out to her.

"Don't you have more than one of those?"

"Not yet."

"Looks like I'm wearing it then." she said before taking the helmet from him.

He helped her get situated before he climbed on. She scooted closer to him before wrapping her arms around his waist. He couldn't understand why she had even talked to him. He had even surprised himself when he offered her a ride home. He hadn't expected her to say yes.

She gave him directions by pointing with her hand. While she would have been comfortable telling them in his ear, she knew he wouldn't be. She would wait, even if it was torturing her.

Rachel had been the one to explain Ryan's situation to her. She couldn't imagine what he was going through. He was being pulled in different direction by his parents; he was put in the middle when they fought. He had kept Hannah out of it the whole time she was in college. What could she have done? Ryan would plead with her to go back every time she came home. He was raising their younger sister while their mother worked nights at the hospital as a nurse.

They slowed to a stop in front of her house. Leah pulled off the helmet and set in on the seat behind Ryan. Seth and Sam came from around the side of the house. Sam stopped where he was, while Seth walked towards the bike in awe.

"Hey." he said enthusiastically.

"Seth, not now." Leah said shaking her head.

"Hi." Ryan said with a nod.

"That's a really cool motorcycle. What year is it?"

"I think it's a sixty five."

"Wow. It doesn't look that old." Seth said, giving it a once over.

"My dad restored it for me." Ryan explained.

"What, like a birthday present?"

"Yeah."

"Seth, he needs to go." Leah said putting a hand on Seth's shoulder.

"Bye." Seth said with a wave.

"Bye." Ryan said as he grabbed the helmet.

"Sorry." Leah said, laughing nervously.

"It's fine. I see him around school all the time. I didn't know he was your brother." he said brushing the situation off.

"Unfortunately." she said rolling her eyes.

"Could I get your number?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Do you have a pen?"

"No." he said with a laugh.

"I'll go inside and get one."

She quickly walked inside and into the kitchen. She was going through drawers when she let out a frustrated growl.

"Leah, is that you?" Sue asked from the other end of the house.

"Yeah, it's me." she answered in aggravation.

"What's wrong?"

"Why is it that I can never find a pen when I need one?" she asked in frustration.

Sue came into the kitchen holding out a pen. Leah went to reach for it but Sue held it out of her reach.

"Thank you." Leah said reaching again.

"Why do you need it?" Sue asked pulling the pen away again.

"Oh come on!" Leah said with a groan.

"Tell me."

"Ryan is outside; and he wants my number." she said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Go get 'em Tiger." Sue said handing her the pen.

"You're worse than dad." Leah said with a laugh.

"Someone has to keep it going!" Sue called after her.

Leah walked out of the house seeing Jared and Paul getting out of Paul's truck. They were both staring at Ryan, wondering what he was doing there.

"Sam and Seth are around back." she said as she walked up to them.

"I can't say hi to my friend?" Jared asked in confusion.

"From here." she said giving him the evil eye.

"Hey Ryan."

"Hey Jared." Ryan said with a smile.

"Go." Leah warned under her breath.

"We're going." Paul said before walking away.

Jared followed him reluctantly. Leah turned and walked over to Ryan.

"Sorry it took so long." she apologized.

"It's okay." he assured her.

"I should probably write it on your arm. It would come off your hand too easy because you'd be gripping the handle bars." she said rationally.

"You're right." he agreed pushing his sleeve up.

She took hold of his wrist and took a slow breath. Now she understood what Jacob had told her about the jolt of electricity. She wrote her number slowly, wanting to hold the contact for as long as possible. She reluctantly let go when she was done.

"I'll see you later." he said before putting on his helmet.

Leah nodded, then stepped back as he started the bike. He turned the bike around before driving down the driveway. It was official, Leah Clearwater was a goner.

XXXX

Hannah had a lot to make up for. Embry had endured her mom's nagging for an hour before she went to work. Ryan had come home not long after she had left. Jasmine was in the living room watching a movie, but she was more interested in what Hannah and Embry were doing. At least Ryan was smart enough to leave them alone.

Embry sat on her bed, his back against the wall. Hannah lay next to him, with her head in his lap. He ran his fingers slowly through her hair as she stared up at him.

"Can I ask you something?" she enquired.

"Sure." he said smiling down at her.

"What was Erin like?" she prodded.

Erin was Jacob's cousin that Embry had dated the year before. They had dated for the summer until she left to go back to California. He had mentioned her when he and Hannah had first started dating. Hannah had pretended that she didn't know about her and she hadn't been brought up since.

"She was quiet, she was shy, pretty much the opposite of you." he teased, winking at her.

"Jerk." she said smacking him in the stomach before laughing.

"She was okay as far as first girlfriend's go." he said indifferently.

"Do you still talk to her?" she questioned.

"No. She sent me a letter not long after she left, that's the last I heard from her."

"You two slept together, right?"

"Who told you?" he asked with a sigh.

"Jake. You aren't mad are you?"

"No." he said going back to running his fingers through her hair.

"Is she the only girl that you've slept with?"

"Yeah." he assured her.

"I've only slept with one person too." she said closing her eyes.

"Good to know." he said as he took hold of one of her hands.

"His name was Kyle. We dated off and on this year." she explained.

"What happened?"

"He broke up with me the day after it happened. We didn't get back together after that." she said with a sigh.

"That's his loss." he said squeezing her hand.

"I got him back for what he did. I told the girl he dated after me about a little problem that he has."

"What problem is that?"

"Not only is he short, he didn't last long. Less than two minutes."

His whole body shook with laughter. Her laughter soon joined his. It had felt good to be able to laugh about the situation now. Even if she hadn't felt like laughing at the time.


	15. Push and Pull

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I just like the books.**

**AN: I wanted to let you guys know that I posted a replacement chapter 12 for The Best Friend Finally Gets the Girl. Luckily I remembered what had happened in the original, so I didn't stray too far from it.**

Bella woke up feeling a sense of dread. She heard Charlie moving around downstairs. Maybe someone else would show up today. She heard Charlie coming up the stairs as she was getting dressed. He knocked before she told him to come in.

She was brushing her hair as he opened the door.

"I just wanted to let you know that I was leaving."

She heard the front door close a few minutes later. She didn't hear anything downstairs so she didn't know if anyone was there or not. Edward was an expert at keeping quiet so it was anybody's guess if he would show up today.

She came downstairs to find Edward sitting on the couch. She ignored him as she went into the kitchen. She made herself a bowl of cereal and ate it at the kitchen table. She was reading the newspaper when Edward sat across from her. She finished the article she was reading before acknowledging him.

"Do you have anything planned for today?" he asked politely.

"Not really. I think I might be coming down with something. So I'll go and get some medicine if it gets worse." she said grabbing another section of the paper from the table.

"I can have someone go and get it for you." he offered.

"I can ask someone to get it for me myself." she said in a stressed tone.

"I was being nice. No need to snap my head off." he said in defense.

"I'm irritable when I don't feel good. I'll just ask Jake to pick me up something." she said opening her phone.

She texted him quickly before going back to reading the paper. Her phone vibrated a minute later.

"Great. He's already at work." she said with a sigh.

"Do you want me to…?"

"I'll handle it. I can't call Embry, he's at work too. Quil's out of town. Paul would get mad if I asked Rachel to come over. There's an option." she said quirking an eyebrow.

She sent another text message while Edward watched her. Her phone vibrated before she could sit it down. She sent another text message before going back to reading the paper.

"Is someone bringing you something?"

"Yes." she said not looking up from the paper.

"I'm sorry you're not feeling well." he said sympathetically.

"It'll give me a reason to sleep all day. You'll have it easy." she reassured him.

Someone knocked on the door ten minutes later. Edward was at the door before Bella could tell him to wait. His hand was on the door knob before she could warn him. He sucked in an unnecessary breath before bolting into the living room.

"It's for you." he called.

"I figured that." she said with a sigh.

Hannah stood in the foyer taking Bella in.

"Thank you." Bella said sniffling.

"It's not a problem. Is that your ex-boyfriend?"

Bella gave her a confused look.

"Embry." Was all she said.

"I was hoping that he wouldn't tell you." she said in dismay.

"He could be put in danger Bella. Of course he told me. Jake was right, he does have a stick up his ass." she observed.

"That's my fault. I'm not the best charge right now. His guard is up. Plus, he wasn't expecting a human to be on the other side of the door. I should have warned him." Bella said in Edward's defense.

Hannah handed her the bag she was holding before heading towards the door.

"I got you something that'll knock you out. You need to sleep." Hannah said in concern.

"Let me pay you back." Bella said as she reached for her wallet on the table.

"Don't worry about it. You would have done the same thing for me." She stepped into the doorway before waving at Edward.

"I'll see you later." Bella said with a wave.

"I'll come by after work to check on you." Hannah said as she opened the door.

"Okay." she said with a nod.

Bella shut the door after her before heading back upstairs. If she climbed down the tree now, she could still catch Hannah. She was opening the window when Edward grabbed hold of her arm.

"I've got her Alice. Thank you." he said tensely.

"Traitor!" she yelled before he shut off the phone.

"Have a seat Bella, and get used to me being around. I'm not letting you out of my sight for the rest of the day." he said with a growl.

She flopped onto the bed before opening the bag still in her hand.

"I need a glass of water." she said trying to remain calm.

"Stay right there. I'll be back before you can make it to the window again." he said fleeing the room.

She sighed before falling against the pillows. Today was going to be a long day.

XXXX

Bella woke up feeling something cool on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and Alice smiled down at her. Bella smiled back with a sigh.

"I came over when I realized that your fever was breaking." she explained.

"Already? I've only been sick for a few hours." Bella said in astonishment.

"You've been sleeping for seven hours." Alice observed.

"But colds aren't gone in a day." Bella pointed out.

"Sometimes that happens. Carlisle says he's seen it before. How do you feel?"

"Weak, hungry, and woozy." she said with a sigh.

"Jacob brought you something to eat a few hours ago."

"Jake was here?"

"He came over on his lunch break." Alice said with a smile.

"He drove half an hour here, and half an hour back on his lunch break?" Bella asked slowly.

"I made him something to eat so that he could eat on the way back." Alice reassured her.

"What did he bring?"

"Some kind of soup, he said that it was your favorite."

"Wonton soup. That does sound good." she said with a nod.

"Edward is heating it up now."

Edward came up a few minutes later.

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better. Carlisle needs me at home. Alice, can you stay with her?" he asked as he handed Bella the bowl of soup.

"Of course, we're going to have a guest later." she said, not able to contain her excitement.

"The woman from this morning." Edward said reading her thoughts.

"Hannah. She's probably coming over to check on me." Bella explained.

"That's nice of her. That is why she is coming over." Alice said in agreement.

Edward left and Bella noticed something covered with a towel on top of her dresser.

"What's that?" she asked pointing to it.

"Your birthday present, it's from all of us." Alice said, beaming with pride.

"My birthday isn't for another month." she said with trepidation.

"We won't be here in a month Bella." she said sadly.

"What?" Bella asked, crestfallen.

"We're leaving once the battle is over. I had a vision of me calling to wish you Happy Birthday last week." Alice said sadly.

"When?" Bella questioned in panic.

"I don't know yet." she said pulling the towel away.

A flat screen TV was mounted to the wall, a sound system and Blu Ray player sat where her pictures used to be.

"Thank you." Bella said appreciatively.

"You're welcome. The TV is from Edward, he said that you had mentioned that you wanted one up here." Alice said in explanation.

"I did." she said with a nod.

"Emmett and Rosalie got you the sound system." she said with a smirk.

"How appropriate; seeing as he got me a stereo for me truck last year." Bella said with a soft laugh.

"He thought you might like that. The Blu Ray is from Jasper and I. There are some movies on your desk. They're from Carlisle and Esme." she gestured toward the desk.

"Will I get to say goodbye to all of you this time?" she asked hopefully.

"I won't leave until you do." she said pulling Bella to her.

The doorbell rang making them pull apart.

"That's Hannah." Alice said.

"Go ahead and let her in. I'll be down after I change." Bella said in reassurance.

"You stay here. I'll bring her up." Alice said before walking out of the room.

Hannah came into the room followed by Alice.

"How are you feeling?" she asked sympathetically.

"A little weak still, but other than that I'm fine." Bella answered honestly.

"Ryan's been sick for days, you catch it this morning and now you're almost better." Hannah said in wonder.

"I can't explain it." Bella said with a shrug.

"Carlisle says that you need to drink more fluids. You're not out of the woods yet." Alice said handing her bottled water.

The three of them were laughing as they watched TV when Hannah's phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket as she fell onto the bed.

"Hey babe." she said once Bella and Alice had quieted down.

"Babe?" Alice asked looking at Bella.

"Her boyfriend, Embry." Bella explained.

"Jake's friend, right?" Alice asked in recognition.

"Mm hmm."

"I'm at Bella's." Hannah answered.

"Hey Em." Bella said loud enough for him to hear.

"Tell him she's fine, Jake's with him." Hannah said to Bella.

Bella's phone rang and she reached across Alice to grab it.

"You are such a loser." she said with a laugh.

"Hey Jacob." Alice called.

"He says that you are an evil little creature." she said still laughing.

"That's Alice." Hannah said joining the laughter.

"Edward left a little while ago." Bella said answering Jacob.

A few minutes later the girls were off the phone. Embry had sprung a surprise date on Hannah so she was going through Bella's closet. She pulled out a skirt.

"How come you never wear this?" Hannah asked holding it up.

"Because it's not what I normally wear, my mom sent it to me. Keep it."

"Thanks." Hannah said pulling her jeans off.

"I have a shirt that would go great with that." Alice said coming into the room.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'll be back in a few minutes." she said before leaving.

The boys pulled up ten minutes later. Bella came down as they came in.

"She's changing. Alice went to get her a shirt. You can go up if you want." Bella said as she sat next to Jacob on the couch.

"Where did that come from?" Embry asked coming back downstairs.

"Boys and electronics." Hannah said in a teasing voice.

"It's my birthday present from the Cullen's." Bella called from the couch.

"Can you tell them that mine is July thirteenth so that they'll know next year?" Embry asked.

"Sure." she said with a laugh.

"What is it?" Jacob enquired.

"It's-"

"Don't tell him. You'll find out later." Bella said giving Jacob a playful look.

"He doesn't even care that I am half naked." Hannah said in frustration.

"That's the first thing I noticed. We'll handle that later when we aren't in Bella's room." Embry promised.

"Thank you." Bella said with a laugh.

Alice came in a few seconds later. She ran her fingers through Jacob's hair in greeting before heading upstairs. Things were quiet upstairs so Bella wondered what was going on.

"She made Embry turn around." Jacob laughed.

"No way." Bella said in shock.

"Yeah."

"My work here is done. I'll see the two of you soon." Alice said as she came into the room.

"Bye." Bella said as Alice hugged her.

"You have fun." she said catching Jacob's chin in her fingers.

"He'll never want to leave." Bella said rolling her eyes.

"I never want to leave as it is." Jacob said sarcastically.

"The Cullen's have found a way to make it harder." Bella promised.

"Did you let her buy you lingerie after all?" he asked hopefully.

"No, pervert. It's not that good." Bella said, hitting him in the stomach playfully.

"Okay, time for us to go." Hannah said pulling Embry out the door.

"Have fun." Bella called before the door shut.

Alice left a few minutes later and Jacob pulled Bella up the stairs. He stopped in his tracks when he walked into the room.

"That TV's got to be at least a fifty inch." he said in awe.

"The Cullen's don't know how to do anything on a small scale. You know that." she pointed out.

"Why would they do this?" he asked in confusion.

"It's my birthday present. They won't be here."

"Why?" he asked spinning around quickly.

"They are leaving once the battle is over."

"So everything will be back to normal in a month? Thank you God!" he said throwing his hands in the air.

"As normal as it can be. You'll still be a wolf." she reminded him.

"I can handle that. Worrying about you constantly wears me down." he said with a sigh.

"I love you too." she said pulling him onto the bed.

"Did they get you any movies?"

"On the desk." she said pointing to the pile.

He sifted through the pile before stopping half way through. He held up a movie with a smile.

"I wondered why Alice asked me what my favorite movies were."

"What is it?"

"The Outsiders."

"What's it about?" she asked coming to stand next to him.

"You're kidding. Have you ever read the book?" he asked giving her a blank look.

"No." she said shaking her head.

"I'll lend you my copy."

"Jake reads; I learn something new every day." she said with a teasing smile.

"Just because I'm not a book worm like you does not mean that I don't read." he said in defense.

"I know. I see you read motorcycle magazines all the time." she said, continuing to tease him.

"All right, you asked for it." he said charging her.

He captured her arms with one hand and held them over her head. He assaulted her with his other hand. She was squirming and laughing seconds later.

"What do you say?" he asked, meeting her gaze.

"I'm not saying it." she said in defiance.

"It's the only way I'll stop." he said giving her a stern look.

"Oh yeah?" she accused.

"Yeah." he said pointedly.

"I know how to make you stop." she said leaning up.

She brushed her lips against his before pulling away. He leaned down but she pulled her head away at the last second. He sighed as he let go of her hands. They were around his neck seconds later.

She moved her head back and his lips were on hers before she could breathe. His tongue demanded entrance as his hands fisted in her hair. She sighed as their tongues glided over each other. Her arms moved from his neck down to his biceps. She felt his muscles flexing and relaxing with each movement.

She pulled away breathless as he laid his forehead to hers.

"You were right. Winning is fun." she said, threading her fingers through his hair.

"I let you win." he said in disagreement.

"It doesn't matter. I still won." she said with a smirk.

He got off of her and went back to the desk. He pulled the movie out of its case as she turned on the Blu Ray player. A few minutes later they were lost in the story of young boys just trying to make a better life for themselves.

XXXX

Embry stood behind Hannah with his hands over hers.

"You line up your shot, and then you follow through." he said bringing her arms back.

The ball went into the hole on the first try.

"Who knew that miniature golf could be a contact sport?" she asked in wonder.

"Do you want me to teach you how to play pool?" he asked against her ear.

"That's our next date." she replied with certainty.

"You've got a deal." he said with a laugh.

They walked hand in hand to the next hole. He let her go first this time, letting her try on her own. She gave him a cocky smile over her shoulder as her ball went in on the first time.

"You think you don't need me?" he asked giving her a pointed look.

"I wouldn't complain if you wanted to help me again." she said as he walked past her.

He pulled his arm back and she came to stand behind him. He looked over his shoulder as he followed through. She kissed him as the ball rolled down the astro turf. But the ball didn't make any noise. Embry pulled away as Hannah looked down the course. The ball was inches from the hole.

"Huh. I guess you aren't as good as you thought." she said haughtily before walking away.

"Come back here." he said reaching for her.

She laughed as he pulled her to him. She turned around in his arms. He kissed her as his hands rested on her hips. Her hands gripped his arms, keeping him in place. Someone behind them cleared their throat. Embry pulled away to look over her shoulder. An elderly couple stood at the bottom of the bridge smiling up at them.

"One second." Embry said heading to the end of the course.

"Take your time." The man said as they crossed the bridge.

By the end of the night Embry had won her a stuffed dog with tickets from the arcade games. It wasn't something that he normally did. He couldn't remember the last time he had played miniature golf. He was glad that he had taken her though. For once all of his attention was focused on her. He hadn't thought of Jacob or Bella all night. Their names hadn't even been brought up.


	16. Seeing Stars

**Disclaimer:**

**Embry: Donna does not own Twilight.**

**Me: Nope, I sure don't.**

**E: Can you untie me now?**

**M: Not until I own Twilight.**

**AN: Okay boys and girls. This chapter isn't for anyone who isn't comfortable with lemon, just warning you.**

Ryan walked through the house, taking in the quiet. There was muffled noise coming from Hannah's room as he passed. He walked into his room and tossed his duffel bag in his closet. He threw himself onto the bed with a grunt. He closed his eyes exhaustion.

"Hi." Someone called from the other side of the room.

His eyes flew open as he raised himself up to lean on his elbows. Leah sat on the corner of his desk.

"How did you get in here?" he asked finding his voice.

"Hannah said that you wouldn't mind if I waited in here for you since your mom isn't home." she explained, silently pleading with him not to ask her to leave.

"I just didn't expect you to be in here." he said once his heart rate returned to normal.

"I wanted to surprise you." she said shyly.

He nodded as he shifted on the bed.

"You can sit over here." he said in invitation.

Leah bit her lip to hide her smile as she made her way across the room. Football and baseball trophies lined the shelves that ran across the room overhead. There had to be at least thirty of them.

"How long have you been playing sports?" she asked as she sat down across from him.

"Since I was in grade school, my dad got me started early." he said as he shoved his hair out of his eyes.

"So you play because your dad wants you to?" she asked, an eyebrow quirked in intrigue.

"I did then. Now I love it." he said with a shrug.

"Did your dad ever force you to play?"

"No. He's not like that." he explained quickly.

She nodded in understanding as he talked about his dad. She would have listened to him recite the Greek alphabet if it meant that he would keep talking. She asked whatever questions popped into her head and he answered them freely. It felt good to have him open up and be honest with her.

She was scared to tell him the truth. So far she had told him almost everything about herself except that she was a werewolf and all that it entailed. She wanted Emily there for when that happened, or maybe Hannah.

He was staring at her with questioning eyes when she realized that he had asked her something.

"Sorry, what?" she asked as a blush crept up her neck.

"Am I boring you?" he asked with a concerned look.

"No. I just spaced out for a second." she said laughing nervously.

"It's cool. I asked if you wanted to go and get something to eat." he asked again.

"Like a date?" she asked, holding in her excitement.

"We'd just be going to the diner, but yeah." he said shyly.

"Sure." she said with a smile.

"I'm gonna go take a shower. I can be ready in half an hour."

"I'll go hang out with Hannah while you get ready." she said rising off the bed.

She stood outside Hannah's door and knocked. Hannah opened the door and looked up at her. She was on the phone. She stepped away from the door to let Leah in.

Hannah's room was completely different from Ryan's. Pictures of her family and friends were on the walls and lined the top of her desk. Leah thought the travel poster for Ireland brought the room together. The ivy green walls made the room look warm. She sat down at Hannah's desk while Hannah wrote something in her day planner. Her phone call continued as Leah saw a picture of Hannah and Embry out of the corner of her eye. He stood behind her with his chin resting on her shoulder. Neither was looking at the camera so they must not have known that the picture had been taken until the person gave Hannah the picture.

"Sorry. That was about a possible job offer." Hannah explained.

"Where?" Leah asked curiously.

"The elementary school is looking for a substitute for at least the first three months of school. One of the fourth grade teachers is taking maternity leave."

"Well I hope you get it." Leah said encouragingly.

"Me too." Hannah said with a laugh.

"I have a date with Ryan tonight."

"You asked him out?" Hannah asked giving her a wide eyed look.

"He asked me out." Leah corrected.

"Wow. Congratulations." she said with a smile.

"Thanks. He surprised me too." she said in astonishment.

"Where are you going?"

"To the diner. Do you have plans tonight?"

"Nope. Looks like I'm flying solo. Embry has to work."

"Who took this picture of you and Embry?" Leah enquired.

"Which one?" Hannah asked from the closet.

"The black and white one. Neither of you are looking at the camera." she explained.

"Rachel took that one. There's one of us standing on a tire swing from when we were younger too."

"Where?" Leah asked getting up.

"Above the bed."

"Who took it?"

"Sarah Black." Hannah said sadly.

"How old were you guys?"

"Sixteen and twelve."

They were both looking at the camera; her hands were over his as they gripped the rope. That simple gesture was one of the sweetest things that Leah had ever seen. She wasn't the type to cry at weddings. She liked babies, but she didn't go crazy over them the way some woman did. Her mom had raised her to be an independent thinker. She had a feeling that Ryan wouldn't have a problem with that.

XXXX

Hannah's window slid open just after midnight. Embry crawled through, being as quiet as he possibly could. Her mom's van wasn't outside, but Ryan's motorcycle was. He gently shook Hannah making her groan. She tossed an arm over her eyes as he shook her again.

"What?" she asked her voice thick with sleep.

"Get up." he said pulling away from her.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." she mumbled.

"I'll make it worth your while." he sang teasingly.

"Don't make promises that you can't keep." she said darkly.

"Would you get up? We're going to miss it." he said with a laugh.

"I'm not going anywhere." she said stubbornly.

He shook his head with a smile as he jerked the covers off of her. She started to shout in protest but he put a hand over her mouth.

"Do you want to wake Ryan and Jasmine up?" he questioned.

Her muffled reply came back. He took his hand away, looking down at her expectantly.

"I hate you." she said giving him a death glare.

"What you're wearing is fine. Here's your jacket." he said tossing it to her.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed with a grunt. She trudged across the room and slipped on her shoes. They were climbing out the window less than a minute later.

He was quiet for the ten minute ride. She was frustrated with him; he didn't want to make it worse. They walked through the beach parking lot in silence. It was deserted. What could he have brought her out here for? He carried a blanket under his free arm. The moon cast an eerie glow on the water as he led her down the beach. He was spreading the blanket as she watched the sky. Meteors had begun to fall into the ocean.

"Embry." she said whispered in astonishment.

He turned before pulling her down onto the blanket. She sat next to him with her head on his shoulder.

"How did you know that this would happen?" she asked.

"I saw it when it first started." he explained.

"It's amazing." she said in awe.

He wrapped his arms around her as she got closer to him. She let out a sigh of contentment as the sight before them continued. He kissed her, letting himself turn towards her. He let her push him gently onto the blanket.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said with a smile.

"Shit. I don't have a condom." he said pulling away from her.

"It's okay. I'm on the pill." she said as she pulled him back.

She pushed his shirt up, exposing his torso before he pulled it over his head. She unzipped her jacket and it was next to his shirt on the blanket. He fingered the thin straps of her tank top before she pulled it over her head. With her breast exposed the cold air made her nipples harden. He cupped them in his hands, massaging them gently.

She pushed his basketball shorts down his hips along with his boxers. His hands made a slow decent down her body; his fingers grazing her sides before hooking them into her pajama shorts. He leaned down to kiss her, letting his weight fall on his arms.

Her arms were around his neck pulling him closer. She sighed against his lips as he caressed her arms, warming her instantly. He pulled away, leaning down to pull her underwear down. He was inside of her before she could blink.

"I don't want to waste any time." he said apologetically.

"Me neither." she said her eyes meeting his.

He moved slowly and Hannah matched his rhythm with little effort. Her arms were still around his neck so she pulled him back to her. She gasped as she felt all of him fill her with very little pain. The wind blew her hair over her face and he brushed it away without saying a word.

She brushed her lips against his in a gentle kiss as the waves crashing and seagulls made the only noise. She didn't know that sex could be like this, she didn't have much to base it on, but she was sure that this was as close to perfect as it got. First times at anything were awkward but never forgotten. She could honestly say that she would never forget this.

The kiss grew heated as he sped up slightly. His hands were in her hair seconds after his tongue past her lips. She lifted herself up off the blanket to meet his thrust as he moaned into her mouth. She rolled them over not breaking the kiss. Her hair fell in a curtain around them and he brushed it over her shoulders once he pulled away.

She sat up on her knees, moving against him at her own pace. He placed his hands on her hips before staring up at her through lust filled eyes. She smiled down at him because that look alone had made her feel alive. She was responsible for that look. She found it hard to believe that she could invoke so much passion from him.

His hands cupped her breast again, his thumbs brushing over her nipples. They were hard again in seconds. He sat up and pulled her legs around his waist. She continued to move against him after he put his forehead to hers. She felt her oncoming climax and knew that she wouldn't last much longer.

"I'm almost there." she moaned.

"Me too." he said.

She let him lift her off of him and she lay on the blanket once more. He pushed himself inside of her with a groan. He pushed in and out of her as she kept him close to her. His semen filled her before he could pull out. His head jerked up and he closed his eyes in frustration. He hadn't wanted to come inside of her. He had been so wrapped up in her that he had under estimated how close he was.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

She pulled him to her and held him close to her as he kept moving against her slowly.

"It's okay." she said kissing his neck.

She rubbed his back as her orgasm racked her through her. She gasped as she dug her nails into his back. Her breathing was heavy as she stretched beneath him.

She kept him close to her as he buried his face in her neck.

"You don't need to be ashamed." she said soothingly.

"What if you get pregnant?" he asked, scared.

"Then I get pregnant. Scarier things have happened." Her voice as soothing as ever.

He pulled away from her to look her in the eyes. He looked younger than his eighteen years. Maybe they weren't as ready as she had thought.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too." she said with a smile.

He rolled off of her to lie next to her. She rolled over onto her side to face him. To be honest she was just as scared as he was. She didn't want him to know that because she knew that it would make things worse. The idea of having a baby right now scared the living daylights out of her. They were both too young.

XXXX

Jacob silently climbed through Bella's window. She was sprawled out across the bed, using her arms as a pillow. Her body was diagonal with her lower half was on her side of the bed and her upper half was on Jacob's side of the bed. This was how she normally slept when he wasn't there.

He pulled the blanket off the end of the bed and grabbed one of the pillows that Bella wasn't using. He got situated on the floor as he heard Bella move in bed. He turned to face her, watching her chest move up and down in the moonlight.

He hadn't planned on coming over tonight. But with the battle getter closer by the hour, he worried about her more and more.

XXXX

Embry woke to the sun shining in his eyes. He reached blindly for his shorts before retrieving his phone from the pocket. He flipped it open as his eyes adjusted to the light. It was eight thirty. He turned over to wake Hannah. He ran a finger across her shoulder as she stirred. She opened one eye with a groan.

"What time is it?" she asked tiredly.

"Eight thirty."

"I have a job interview in an hour and a half." she said, with a groan.

She sat up, pulling the blanket with her. They quickly dressed and made their way back to the car.

Embry took a short cut and they were pulling up in her driveway five minutes later. Ryan sat on the steps with his arms resting on his legs. He stood as Hannah got out of the car. He took one look at her and shook his head. Their mom had gotten off work early.

"I told her that you went for a run." Ryan explained when her gaze flickered to their mom's van.

"I don't need a lecture from you." she said with a sigh.

Embry got out of the car and met them in the middle of the yard.

"You can go home." Ryan said glaring at him.

"You have no right to be mad at him." she said getting in between them.

"He has something to say Hannah. Let him say it." Embry said moving around her.

"You think you're so much better than everyone else. Where's your dad Embry?" Ryan mocked.

"Ryan, stop it." Hannah said warning him.

"You can't answer me?" he asked, giving Embry an icy glare.

"You're the one who thinks their untouchable. So I guess you would know." Embry said in a strained voice.

"Embry, please." Hannah said in a pleading voice.

"Did you sleep with him?" Ryan accused, getting in Hannah's face.

"That is none of your business." she said as she glared at him.

"Get away from her." Embry warned in a threatening voice.

"Ryan, back off." she pleaded.

"Let's go." Ryan said grabbing hold of her arm.

They hadn't taken two steps when Embry spun them around. He pulled Ryan's hand off of Hannah and he had twisted it around his back before he could react.

"Embry." A voice said from the end of the driveway.

"Who the hell are you?" Ryan grunted in aggravation.

"Someone who's here to help. Embry let him go." Sam said calmly.

"Thank you Sam." Hannah said exhaling the breath she was holding.

"Sam? You're Leah's ex-boyfriend?"

"Yes." Sam said in a small voice.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked giving him a credulous look.

"I heard the three of you arguing. I live on the other side of the forest." Sam explained.

"That's a good four miles from here." Ryan said credulously.

"I didn't say that I was at home." Sam said glancing at him.

"Hannah go inside." Embry said from next to her.

She looked up at him with questioning eyes.

"I need to talk to Ryan." he said, answering her silent question.

"Okay."

Embry waited until Hannah was inside before turning to face Ryan.

"You are not going to talk to her like that again. And if I ever hear about you putting your hands on her in a harmful way again I will kill you. Do you understand?" Embry said, his voice flat, his face a mask of fury.

"Easy Embry." Sam said in a gentle voice.

"I understand." Ryan said with a sigh.

"You can say whatever you want about me, but don't do it in front of her again."

Ryan nodded as he shoved his hair out of his eyes.

"You are going to apologize to your sister. And you are not going to interfere in our relationship again. Is that clear?" Embry asked.

"Crystal." Ryan said in a clipped tone.

"Good. You can go inside now." he said, giving him once last steady glare.

Hannah opened the door for Ryan, looking at Embry and Sam as she shut the door.

"Remind me never to piss you off. Authoritive Embry is scary." Sam said with a laugh

"He went too far." Embry said shaking his head.

"It sounds like it. How did you keep it reigned in?"

"I didn't want Hannah's first time seeing me as a wolf to be while I was attacking her brother." Embry rationalized.

"Good idea." Sam said in agreement.

"He's not always like that."

"Yeah, well his sister's boyfriend brought her home after keeping her out all night. I could smell sex radiating off the two of you." Sam observed.

"Don't tell anybody." Embry pleaded.

"It's none of my business." Sam said with a shrug.

They continued through the forest and came through the trees in Sam's back yard. Jacob and Quil stood a few feet away.

"Do you smell something Jake?" Quil asked giving Embry a teasing smile.

"Not now." Embry said rolling his eyes.

"What happened?" Jacob asked with worried eyes.

"He had a run in with Ryan. Let's just say that Ryan isn't dead." Sam said with a sigh.

"What did you do?" Quil asked looking at Embry.

"What do you think?" Embry asked, giving him a pointed look.

"You did sleep with Hannah. You dog!" Quil said nudging him.

"What else is wrong?" Jacob asked in concern.

"Something that I would rather not talk about right now." he said shaking his head.

"You aren't going to be able to keep it from us forever." Sam said.

"But I can for now. That's what matters." Embry said before walking away.

The three friends watched him walk around the side of the house. It wasn't like Embry to keep things to himself. Whatever it was, it had to be serious.


	17. Survival of the Fittest

**Disclaimer: I own Twilight, and I will share it with anyone who wants it…For a price.**

**AN: This is the second to last chapter kiddos. I didn't want to spring that it was ending on you in the last chapter. Enjoy.**

Bella's birthday drew nearer and nearer, it was less than two weeks away when Jacob came to see her in the middle of the night. The battle would happen at dawn the next morning.

"Write a note to your dad; tell him that something came up and that Emily needs you to be at her house today. I need a shirt from your dirty laundry, one that you won't mind not getting back, maybe your jacket. And some strands of your hair." he told her quickly.

"So they'll follow my scent." she said in acknowledgement.

"They know it. We're going to lead them away from La Push." he explained.

Bella found a white t-shirt and handed it to him. She went to her closet next. She pulled out her black hoodie before grabbing a pen from off her desk. She wrote a quick note to her dad then tip toed downstairs to place it at his spot at the table.

They were in her truck five minutes after Jacob had climbed through her window. The ride to La Push was filled with tension and silence. They pulled up to Sam and Emily's and Sam opened the door as they got out of the truck.

Sam smiled politely at Bella before walking down the stairs.

"Meet me in the clearing." he said to Jacob over his shoulder.

"I'll be there in ten minutes." Jacob agreed.

Sam ran through the yard and up the street.

"I'm scared." Bella said wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You don't need to be. We're going to win. Alice has already seen it." he reassured her soothingly.

"That doesn't mean that something won't happen." she said, her voice small.

"I promise that I will come back to you." he promised her.

"You'd better. Because if you don't, I'll find a way to bring you back to life. And then I will kill you." she threatened, her voice slightly more calm.

"You know, I actually believe you." he said with a laugh.

"Don't make me laugh." she said with a shaky sigh.

He held her face in his hands as he kissed her. It was an urgent, pleading kiss. Neither of them wanted to be the one to let go first. Bella pulled away when she heard a loud howl.

"Go." she urged.

"I'll see you later." he said kissing her lightly.

She watched him until he faded from sight. As she opened the door Embry came onto the porch with Hannah in his arms.

"Bye." she said with a sad smile.

He gave her an encouraging smile. She went inside and found Emily at the table, her hands were folded together on top of the table and her eyes were closed. Bella sat down at the other end of the table as quietly as she could. She needed to do some praying of her own.

The door opened a few minutes later and Hannah came in followed by Rachel. Emily busied herself with something in another room as the other three sat in silence. Someone knocked on the door and Emily came back into the room.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm here so you didn't worry when you hear something." Seth explained from the porch.

"Thanks Seth." Emily said with a smile.

She turned to look at the other three and rolled her eyes.

"You three need to take your minds off of what's going on." she encouraged.

"Like what?" Rachel asked with a blank stare.

"You can help me plan my wedding." Emily said with a smile.

"Or you can help me figure out a way to tell Embry that I'm scared of being a parent." Hannah said with a nod.

"What?" Rachel asked in shock as she whipped her whole body around to face Hannah.

"I don't know for sure, it's too soon to tell. But I might be pregnant." Hannah explained quietly.

"Have you missed your period?" Emily asked in concern.

"As of right now, no. It's not supposed to start until next week."

"Okay we'll handle your crisis first. Congratulations Emily." Bella said looking at Emily.

"Thanks." she said with a smile.

The girls banded together and calmed Hannah down. It looked like the first addition to the next generation of the pack might happen sooner than they thought.

XXXX

Jacob, Sam, Jasper, and Emmett were positioned at each corner of the clearing. Carlisle had sent Edward up the mountain to ward off advances from up above.

The clearing was quiet and everyone in it was waiting for whatever came next. Alice was talking with Jasper, pointing somewhere in between where he and Sam were standing. That would be where the newborns were coming from. She came to Jacob next.

"They'll be here any minute. Jasper wants all of us to form a line." Alice explained.

Jacob nodded in understanding. Alice gently ran her fingers through his fur before walking away. He followed her, letting everyone else know what was going on.

The smell alone was almost too much to bear as the newborns drew nearer. It was even worse than the Cullen's. The first handful of newborns stepped out of the trees to Jacob's right. Paul, Jared, and Emmett had them down and defeated within seconds.

At least ten more came out the trees directly in front of Jacob, Leah, and Carlisle. Jacob killed four of them himself. He looked over his shoulder to see Leah with one in her mouth, tearing it to shreds. He saw a vampire less than two feet away from her, ready to strike.

He bounded across the field, hoping to catch the guy before he attacked. The guy saw Jacob and charged. The guy caught Jacob around his middle and squeezed with everything he had.

Jacob blacked out from the pain, but not before phasing. Edward pulled the guy off of Jacob. Carlisle covered Jacob with his jacket as Edward ripped the newborn apart.

"What are you doing down here?" Carlisle asked over his shoulder.

"My job was done. So I came down here to help." Edward explained, tossing the newborn into the pile in the center of the field.

"What happened?" Carlisle questioned.

"I killed Victoria; and her newborn lover too." Edward said with a wide smile.

"Good. Help me with him."

They lifted Jacob and placed him out of the way. Embry and Quil surrounded him.

"Will one of you let Seth know what is going on? Also ask him to ask Bella to meet us at our house." Edward said looking between them.

Quil nodded as Embry nudged Jacob's arm gently.

"It's best to move him now. I'll go find Sam and the others." Carlisle said as Embry and Quil phased.

"How long has he been out?" Quil asked as he pulled his gym shorts on.

"A few minutes. It's better than him dealing with the pain."

Jacob's moan brought their attention back to him. The three of them looked down in concern. He moved to sit up, but screamed in agony. Edward put a hand on his uninjured shoulder.

"Don't move. You've got a lot of broken bones it looks like." Carlisle said coming to stand over him.

"Everybody lift him on three." Sam said as they crowded around Jacob.

"Let Billy know that I will be there as soon as possible. There is something my family needs to take care of. And I need to get my medicine bag." Carlisle said in concern.

Sam nodded before the pack walked away. Alice came to stand next to them with a worried look.

"We have company." she said in a strained voice.

Four figures came out of the trees in a diamond formation. The Cullen's were just glad that everyone else was gone. And that Bella was nowhere near them. They had been worried that they would find out about her.

XXXX

Bella got to the Cullen's before they did. Embry left not long after driving her over. Her mind was still reeling from finding out that Jacob had been injured. Embry had had to carry her out of the house and to her truck. He hadn't said a word until he was about to leave.

"He's going to be fine. He wouldn't want you to worry about him." he reassured her.

"But it's okay for him to worry about me?" she asked in aggravation.

"We all worry about you. Jacob hasn't had anyone to worry about him other than Billy in years." he explained.

"Well then he'll just have to get used to it." she said pointedly.

Embry laughed before pulling her to him. He squeezed her hard as she breathed in his scent. It was completely different from Jacob's in a good way. He smelled of soap and a subtle cologne that she couldn't place.

He opened the drivers' side door and slid out of the cab.

"Tell Hannah that everything is going to be okay. She needs to hear that." Bella said before he shut the door.

He nodded before sprinting towards the tree line. Around the time that she lost sight of him Edward's car pulled up next to the truck. Bella got out as Alice, Esme, and Edward got out. Emmett's Jeep pulled in behind them. Everyone was in the living room less than a minute later.

"You know why we've asked you here, don't you Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"So that I can say goodbye to all of you." she said sadly.

"We'll be gone in the morning." he said with a nod.

"Me first, or else I might get emotional." Alice said stepping up to Bella.

"You can't cry." Bella said with a laugh.

"I will be on the inside." Alice said giving her a sad smile.

"Then I'll start. You're the sister I always wanted but never wanted to admit it." Bella said as her throat tightened.

"You too, if I didn't have Rosie, that is." Alice agreed, nodding quickly.

"You were the first Cullen to accept me, after Edward."

"I am an excellent judge of character." she said with a playful wink.

"It's not like we won't keep in touch."

"I might come and see you." she warned.

"I'd like that." Bella said with a light laugh.

"It's my turn now, Alice." Esme said coming to stand next to them.

Alice pulled Bella in for a hug, nearly crushing her.

"Can't. Breathe." Bella gasped.

"Sorry. Your turn Mom."

"You're like one of my own. You always will be. I will never forget you sweet Bella." she said before kissing Bella's forehead.

Bella's eyes scanned the room, wondering who would be next. Emmett moved to stand in front of her. She stared at him, wondering what he was going to do to her.

"I'm not going to say goodbye, because I'm going to see you whenever I can. Tacoma isn't that far away." he said confidently with a wide smile.

Bella laughed as he picked her up. He spun her around until she was dizzy. He placed her in Carlisle's arms. He stared down at her warmly before speaking.

"I haven't known you very long, but I'm going to reiterate what Alice and Esme have already said. You are a part of our family. This will not be the last time you see us, just the last time for a while." he reassured her.

"I know." she said with a nod.

"I'll go next." Rosalie said from across the room.

Bella turned to look at her.

"We've just started to get to know each other. I feel cheated somewhat. I am sorry for the way that I treated you. I hope that you won't hold it against me." she said sincerely.

"I don't. It's already forgotten." Bella promised.

"Good." Rosalie said before hugging her.

Bella's eyes met Jasper's over Rosalie's shoulder. She pulled away and moved to stand in front of him.

"I know what you are going to say and I'm going to warn you right now, don't. I told you that I forgive you, and I meant it." she said smiling at him.

"Then there's nothing else that I can say." he said returning her smile.

He surprised her by pulling her to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

"That's better than anything you could have said." Bella said just above a whisper.

Jasper smiled shyly as he let her go. Edward stood at the door, waiting for Bella. He gestured outside and he let her go outside first. They stood on the porch, taking in the sounds of nature.

"Edward..." she started.

He held up a finger and the door opened again. Carlisle stepped out carrying his medicine bag.

"Sorry. I should hurry and get to the Blacks. Jacob needs medicine. And I need to see how much damage has been done." he apologized.

"Tell him that I'll be there soon." Bella reminded him.

"Take all the time you need." he said warmly.

Bella looked at Edward, trying to find the right words to say. What she had wanted to say a few seconds ago now sounded contrite and cold.

"I want to apologize for butting into your life so much. As your first love I felt that I had that right. Looking back, I realize that I was wrong. True love outweighs first love." he explained apologetically.

"It does. But that doesn't mean that I'll forget you." she promised.

"I know, it just means that I have to move on." he said with a sigh.

"I want us to be friends." she said in determination.

"I want that too." he agreed.

"Things won't always be strained between us, will they?" she questioned.

"God I hope not." he said pulling her to him.

He breathed deep, taking in her scent. It was something he never wanted to forget. She pulled away as her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket with a sigh.

"It's my dad." she explained.

"Take it. I'll see you soon." he said before opening the door.

"Edward?" she called to stop him.

He turned, giving her a questioning look.

"Thank you." she said sincerely.

"You're welcome Bella." he said with a smile.

He closed the door as her phone beeped, letting her know that she had a voice mail. It was time that she went home anyway.

XXXX

Embry and Quil hadn't wanted to leave Jacob's side. But Quil Sr. had called Quil and asked him to come home and to bring Embry with him. It was important.

Nothing could have prepared either of them for what he had to say.

"You're my father?" Embry asked before his breath was knocked out of him.

"I wanted to wait until I was sure that you would change or not and then both of you got wrapped up in saving Bella, which I find very admirable." he said as an apology.

"How could disrespect Grandma like that?" Quil accused.

"Your Grandmother had been gone for ten years at the time. My time for grieving was done." Quil Sr. said sternly.

Embry grabbed hold of the counter that he was sitting on. His chest burned from lack of oxygen.

"I met your mom when she was in high school Embry. We both worked at the timber mill in town. We dated for a year. She didn't tell me about you until you were a few weeks old. By then I was helping Mae raise Quil and your mom didn't want to cause any trouble. I have helped out as much as I could without coming right out and saying that you were my son." Quil Sr. explained.

"So whose decision was it not to tell Embry?" Quil asked from next to his grandfather.

"It was Nadine's." he stated.

Embry's mind reeled as he took in the new information. His mother had made the decision to keep his father a secret. He had been blaming the wrong person.

"I don't want you to blame your mom. She's a good woman Embry. She loves you." he said in concern.

Embry nodded, knowing that Quil Sr. was right. Quil Sr. walked out of the room, letting the uncle and nephew take everything in.

"You alright?" Quil asked, giving Embry a worried look.

Embry nodded with a sigh.

"Isn't it better that it's someone that you know and trust?" Quil asked rationally.

"You're right." Embry said.

"I usually am." he said with a confident shrug.

"I always wanted a brother. I never thought I'd have any siblings." Embry stated in wonder.

"And now you have a sister, a nephew and a bratty niece."

"Quil." His granddad warned.

"Sorry Ayanna." he called loud enough for her to hear.

Embry laughed as he raked his hands through his hair. He jumped down off the counter and walked towards the door. He wouldn't be able to really process it until he told Hannah.

XXXX

Ryan sat across the picnic table in his and Hannah's back yard. Leah sat next to him and Hannah sat across from them.

"I have something that I need to tell you." Leah said, breaking the silence

"Okay." he said in encouragement.

"You can jump in at any time. Just know that I care about you. Okay?" she stated.

"Okay." he said again.

"I come from a long line of special humans." she said, wanting to word her words just right.

"That's a really good way to put it." Hannah said with a nod.

"You've heard the legend of my tribe, haven't you?"

"That you descend from wolves, we learned about it this year." he answered with a nod.

"Well it's not a legend. It's true." she stated.

"What?" Ryan asked in disbelief.

"I'm a werewolf." she said with all the confidence that she could gather.

"Yeah right, that's not funny." he said with a scoff.

"I'm not kidding." she said giving him an even look.

"Prove it." he said, meeting her steady gaze with one of his own.

"Ryan that's not a good idea, I've never even seen Embry as a wolf." Hannah warned.

He gave his sister a credulous look before shaking his head.

"So you believe this?" he asked, glaring at her.

"I know it's true. Leah is a wolf. She changed to protect her tribe." Hannah explained calmly.

"Embry too?" he countered.

"And Jake, Quil, Sam and nearly a dozen others; including Jared." she added.

Leah stood up and headed towards the side of the house.

"Where is she going?" he asked in confusion.

"She's going to phase. Their naked when they phase back into human form. She more than likely wants to save her clothes." Hannah explained.

"You've never seen one of them?" he questioned.

"No."

"So this is for real?" he asked credulously.

"Yes. And when she comes out you cannot freak out. You'll hurt her feelings." she warned.

"Don't do me any favors." Leah called from the side of the house.

"How did she hear that?" he asked in wonder.

"They have exceptional hearing."

"Anything else?" he asked, intrigued.

"Their body temperature runs at about one hundred eight."

"She told me that she was hot blooded." he said with a light laugh.

"Oh trust me, she is." Hannah said evenly.

"Anything else?"

"They can hear each others thoughts when they are in wolf form. And they're really fast. And can heal with a snap of your finger." she explained.

Her eyes widened as she looked around him. He turned around, taking in the white wolf in front of them.

"She's beautiful." Hannah said in wonder.

"I already knew that." he said with a smile.

Leah moved her snout against his hand, wanting him to touch her. He slowly ran his hand through her fur, stopping in between her ears.

"Her fur is really soft. Seriously, Embry has never done this for you?" he questioned.

"No, but I'm okay with it. He'll do it when the time is right." she reassured him.

Leah pulled away and headed back around the side of the house. She came back a few seconds later.

"I can take it from here. Embry's in the front yard." she stated.

Hannah walked away as Leah sat down next to Ryan again. She would tell him everything. She would answer all of his questions. She didn't care how long it took.

XXXX

The truck lurched to a stop out front of the Blacks. Bella had had to wait until her dad left for work to leave. He had been so freaked by the forest fire, and the Cullen's disappearing that he had made her promise that she wouldn't leave the house. She hated breaking that promise.

Sam, Billy, Rachel and Paul stood in the front yard. Billy looked up as Bella approached them.

"I'm just glad that you weren't there." Billy said as he opened his arms in welcome.

"You aren't worried about Jake?" she asked hugging him.

"He'll heal. It may take a few days, but I don't think he'll mind as long as you're his nurse." Paul teased.

"Ha, ha. He'd like that a little too much." she said, sarcastically rolling her eyes.

Everyone was laughing when Carlisle opened the door.

"Go ahead and go inside Bells. We've seen him already." Rachel said nudging her towards the house.

She met Carlisle at the bottom of the stairs.

"He's broken almost every bone in the upper right side of his body. He has a nasty concussion as well. He wasn't making sense when I got here. He was asking for his mom and oldest sister. I had to re-brake and set each bone before I could put a cast on him. It took two people holding down each arm and leg to keep him from attacking me."

"I'm sorry." she apologized sympathetically.

"It was the pain talking. He's already apologized. He's been asking for you for almost an hour." he said brushing her apology off.

"Thank you." she said warmly.

"No thanks needed." he said patting her hand before walking away.

She opened the door and Jacob called her name from the bedroom. She bit her lip to keep from crying as she walked into the room.

"Look, I'm half wolf, half mummy." he joked halfheartedly.

She couldn't hold back her laughter. He knew that the mood shouldn't be serious. He didn't want her feeling sorry for him.

"I love you." she said as she sat next to him gently.

"I love you too." he said with a crooked smile.

"You did a very brave thing. Given time I'm sure Leah will see that." she said observantly.

"I hope so." he said in concern.

"She will." Bella said with a nod.

"Has anyone told you what happened?" he asked.

"Victoria is dead, that's all that matters."

"Edward didn't tell you?" he prodded.

"Tell me what?"

"If it weren't for him I would be worse than I am now."

"He saved you?" she asked in astonishment.

"I don't know why he didn't tell you." he said in confusion.

"I don't either." she said shaking her head.

They sat in silence, taking everything in. Edward had done a selfless act for her and hadn't even told her. Why would he do that? Why hadn't anyone else told her? She guessed that she would never know.


	18. Bella's Birthday Part Deux

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. But I am the proud of owner of a cup with Taylor Lautner in all of his pouty glory on it. ** **It's pretty cool.**

**AN: I have put up some links for the OC characters in the story. It's just to give a better visual of what I want the characters to look like.**

Bella woke up feeling something pressing down on her chest. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Jacob's arm draped across her. She tried to push it off, which made Jacob groan in protest.

"You're cutting off circulation to my head. I can't breathe." she said with a grunt.

"Stop being so dramatic." Jacob said sleepily.

"Just move your arm. It weighs a ton." she said with a sigh.

His arm slid down to her stomach slowly. He traced lazy circles across her lower body with his eyes still closed.

"Happy birthday." he said into her neck.

She turned to face him with a smile. She had a feeling that this year was going to be different than last year. She hoped that she was right.

"What are you thinking about?"

"My birthday last year, this year is going to be different. I can feel it." she said with a smile.

He smiled before leaning in to kiss her. He pulled away still smiling.

"That's one." he stated.

"What?" she asked skeptically.

"My family has a tradition. When it's someone's birthday the person they are with gives them a kiss for each year that they've celebrated a birthday." he explained.

"Like the birthday slap game." she said in recognition.

"That reminds me, stay away from Quil." he warned.

"I can handle Quil." she scoffed.

"Your dad is waking up. I'm gonna go downstairs." he said pulling away from her reluctantly.

He kissed her quickly before getting out of bed. He quickly dressed and was out the front door before Charlie opened his. Charlie stopped outside Bella's door holding two gifts, both were unwrapped.

"Happy birthday."

"Thanks Dad."

"The one on top is from your mom." he said handing her the gifts.

Bella looked down to see the American Airline logo on an envelope. She pulled out two round trip tickets that she and Jacob could use within the year.

Charlie had gotten her a silver necklace with a heart locket.

"Dad, the dress you bought me for the wedding was enough. You didn't have to do this." she reprimanded politely.

"Sue said that it would look nice with the dress." he said in defense.

"So you take fashion advice from Sue now? I'm impressed." Bella said giving him a teasing smile.

Charlie and Sue had only been together a few weeks but Bella was happy for him. She wouldn't worry about him as much when she left for college next August.

Someone knocked at the front door and Charlie went to the window at the end of the hall.

"It's Jake, Embry, and Quil." he explained.

"Tell Jake that sausage and biscuits had better be on the table when I come down. I'm getting in the shower." she said.

"Okay." Charlie called from downstairs.

Half an hour later Bella and Charlie were playfully fighting over the bathroom mirror.

"Age before beauty young lady." Charlie said bumping her out of the way.

"You have a mirror in your room. I don't." she complained.

"So go use it." he said pointedly.

"You use it." she said pushing him out of the bathroom.

Jacob, Embry, and Quil laughed from downstairs. Bella was curling her hair when Jacob came to stand at the door. He stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. The thin straps of her dress were even smaller in between his fingers. The silk fabric was smooth under his fingers as they moved along the small of her back. He kissed her bare shoulder before resting his chin on it.

"That's three." he whispered.

"The kisses can be anywhere?" she asked, her voice sultry.

"Mm hmm." he murmured against her neck.

"I'll have to remember that." she thought out loud.

"Out." Charlie called from his room.

"I'll be down in a few minutes." she said kissing the corner of his mouth.

"That doesn't count." he reprimanded.

"You have to kiss me, I know. That was a free one." she stated.

"Now Jacob." Charlie said coming down the hall.

Jacob passed Embry on the upstairs.

"Happy birthday." he said leaning against the doorjamb.

"Thanks." Bella said with a smile.

"This is from me and Hannah." he said handing her a small box.

Bella opened it seeing a charm bracelet identical to the one that Rachel and Hannah wore. Two charms dangled from it. One was two hands forming a heart. The second was a half-moon with a star dangling from it.

"Thank you. This is really nice." she said hugging him.

"Suck up." Quil said from the stairs.

"Shut up." he warned.

"Come here Quil." she called.

"That's gonna be one crowded bathroom." he said, stating the obvious.

"Embry needs to change. You and I are going in my room." she countered, glaring mockingly at him.

"Woo hoo!" Quil said excitedly.

"Hey!" Jacob yelled from downstairs.

"Quil?" Charlie asked from his room.

"Yes sir?"

"Have you ever dated Bella?"

"No." he said with a laugh.

"Have you ever had sex with her?"

"No sir, I have not." he said earnestly.

"Then you can stay in there as long as you like."

Bella laughed as Quil followed her into her room.

"You are going to hit me once, and that is it. Do you understand?" she questioned.

"Yep." he said quickly.

"Make it count." she encouraged.

He smacked her upside the head gently.

"Is that it?" she asked in confusion.

"Yeah." he said slowly.

"Jake made me think that you would knock me out or something." she said rolling her eyes.

"Just because I did that with Leah doesn't mean that I would do that to you." he said rolling his eyes back at her.

"I bet you enjoyed it a little too much." she said, laughing lightly.

"I did. But now I have to watch my back on my birthday. Leah just might come after me with a bat." he said unsurely.

Twenty minutes later Bella was downstairs eating breakfast when the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Jacob said picking up the house phone.

Someone was talking loudly on the other end. He handed it to Bella with a half-smile.

"Hello?" she asked with trepidation.

"Hey there, birthday girl!" Renee said loudly.

"You don't have to yell mom. I can hear you." Bella urged.

"Sorry. I didn't think that you could over the rain and thunder." she said bashfully.

"It's okay."

"How are things?"

"Things are good."

"Do you have plans for today?" Renee questioned.

"Actually some friends of mine are getting married today. Dad and I went out to dinner last night and Jake and I are going to do something tomorrow. Thank you for my present." she said earnestly.

"You're welcome. When are you coming down? I miss my baby." she said sadly.

"I don't know yet. I haven't talked to Jake."

"Well you had better get on the ball. I can't keep picturing him as a two year old when I talk to him. That's all I remember about him."

"I sent you pictures." Bella reminded her with a laugh.

"I know, but I would still like to see him." Renee reasoned.

"Well, sometime in the next year you will see him."

Jacob, Embry, and Quil looked at her with questioning eyes.

"My mom sent the two of us tickets to see her for my birthday." she explained.

"How cool is that?" Quil asked thumping Jacob on the shoulder.

"I'm still here." Renee said.

"I know mom. I have to go. We have to be in La Push right now."

"We're late, great. Pushy Bella isn't far behind." Quil said under his breath.

Bella smacked him upside the head as they headed out the door. Quil and Embry rode with Charlie while Bella rode with Jacob. She noticed a box propped against the gearshift and looked at it curiously.

"What is that?" she enquired.

"Your birthday present, you'll get it later." he explained.

He put it in the glove box as they drove down the highway. It would be forgotten for the rest of the day.

XXXX

Hannah, Rachel, Leah, and Bella sat in Sue's room waiting for Emily to come in. The door opened slowly and Emily came in followed by Sue and her mother. Emily had her hair down, but swept to one side. It fell in waves over her right shoulder, covering almost half of her scars. The lace halter bodice was pulled tight, showing off her curves. The skirt fell just below her knees in a bell shape.

"You look beautiful." Bella said with a smile.

"Thank you." Emily said smiling shyly.

Rachel picked up Bella's wrist, taking in the bracelet.

"I had said that I was going to get you this, but she beat me to it." Rachel growled in aggravation.

"Technically Embry did too." Bella reminded her in a teasing manner.

"Don't get me started on him. I have your present in my purse."

"It can wait. I don't want to take attention away from Emily." Bella said to dissuade her.

"I don't mind." Emily said to voice her opinion.

"It ties in with the bracelet anyway; mine kind of goes with the one that Jake made you." she said reaching into her purse.

She handed Bella a small box. Inside the box was a heart charm that had the word sisters etched into the center.

"Thank you." Bella said hugging Rachel.

"You're welcome. Let me put it on for you." she offered.

Rachel slipped the charm onto the bracelet easily while everyone else helped Emily with her make up.

"It's time." Emily's dad said from the door.

The girls lined up at the back door waiting to go out. Leah as maid of honor went first, followed by Rachel, Hannah, Bella, and Kim. Everyone was silent as Emily walked down the aisle.

Sam watched Emily's every move as her dad gave her away. He let out the breath he was holding as he took Emily's hands in his.

Not even the rain could ruin the day as it fell in a mist. The sun peaked through the clouds as Sam and Emily recited their vows. The crowd clapped loudly as they were announced husband and wife. Sam picked Emily up before kissing her.

They walked down the aisle arm in arm as the wedding procession followed. Jacob took Bella's hand and placed it in the crook of his arm.

"You look nice. I haven't told you that yet." he complimented her.

"I'm wearing the same thing that four other girls are wearing." she said with a laugh.

"They don't look as good as you do. Sam's brother in law can't stop staring at you. I think I'll help Sam remind him that he's married." he said possessively.

"Be nice." she warned.

"I always am." he said in defense.

"No phasing just to scare him. Mike is still called a liar." she reminded him.

"Serves him right, he shouldn't have cheated on Jessica." he said with a scoff.

"You look good too. I might have to ask Rachel to take a picture. You don't dress up enough."

"I don't have a reason to." he reasoned.

"What if I told you I think it's sexy?" she whispered in his ear.

"That's a completely different story." he said pinning her against a tree.

He leaned down as her fingers grazed his neck. His lips brushed against hers as she opened her mouth to let him in.

"Where are Rachel and her camera when you need her?" Jared asked as he walked past.

Jacob flipped him off but didn't pull away. Bella smiled against his lips before pulling away.

"How many is that now?" he asked.

"You're supposed to keep track, not me." she reminded him with a wistful smile.

"Damn, I guess I'll just have to start over again starting with the next one." he said with a lopsided grin.

"It sucks to be me." Bella said with a laugh.

He winked at her before pulling her back into the house. The house was full of laughter and yelling as they came through the back door. Everyone crowded around Sam and Emily as they opened their wedding gifts.

Bella leaned against Jacob, taking everything in. He rested his chin on her shoulder, kissing the hollow of her neck. He held up one finger so that she could see it. She turned her head to look at him and he gave her an innocent look.

"I'm not falling for that." she admonished.

He pouted before grinning from ear to ear.

"I think it's time that Jake and Bella and Embry and Hannah head back outside." Sam said once they were done.

"Why?" Bella and Hannah asked at the same time.

"This is going to be good." Quil said with an evil laugh.

"Come on. It's better to get this over with now. We're lucky it's not cold outside." Jacob said leading Bella out the back door again.

Charlie was outside holding the water hose. Ryan stood a few feet away.

"I guess we're going first." Bella said as Seth turned the water on.

"Front and center you two." Charlie said pointing in front of him.

Bella wrapped her arms around him Jacob's neck and he wrapped his around her waist.

"Do we have to do this now?" Jacob asked as Charlie aimed the nozzle.

"Yes." The entire pack said at the same time.

"I've got clothes that you can change into Bells. Don't worry." Rachel reassured from the sidelines.

A rush of cold water hit them before Bella could reply. Jacob protected her by turning them so that he got most of it.

"You were right Billy that was fun." Charlie said once Seth turned the house off.

"I told you so." Billy said gruffly.

"What the hell was that?" Bella accused giving Jacob a pointed look.

"You have just been initiated Bella my girl." Rachel said handing her a towel.

"What?" she asked, her eyes searching Jacob's.

"Whenever one of the pack seals the deal they and their imprint get hosed down. Your dad and Ryan decided that today was a good day to do it. Let's get you changed." Rachel said in Jacob defense.

"What about Hannah?"

"Emily has clothes for her."

Rachel walked away leaving Bella still clinging to Jacob.

"You couldn't warn me?" she asked, hurt.

"I didn't know that they were going to do it today." he said with a laugh.

"Why haven't I heard of this before?" she questioned with a sigh.

"Because it's a secret."

"Well Kim knows." she stated pointedly.

"I imagine that Jared will be cock blocked for the rest of his life."

Bella shook her head with a laugh.

"You're lucky I love you." she said kissing him.

"Turn the water back on Seth." Charlie said.

"I'm done!" Bella said before quickly pulling away.

Embry and Hannah stood a few feet away as Charlie handed Ryan the hose.

"Can you give us a minute?" Hannah asked Ryan.

He nodded with a shrug.

"You've been distracted all day, what's going on?" he questioned in worry.

"Looks like you had reason to worry." she mumbled.

"What?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"I'm pregnant. I found out this morning." she said quietly.

"We aren't doing this. You're going to have to wait Ryan." he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, we are doing this." Hannah said giving Embry a pointed look.

"No, we aren't." he countered.

"Damn it Embry, I'm pregnant not a porcelain doll." she said in frustration.

"Turn it on Seth." Ryan said darkly.

"Go easy Ryan." Leah said.

"We don't need any favors." Hannah interjected.

"You tell 'em Hannah!" Quil cheered.

"Shut up Quil." Embry said getting in front of Hannah.

"You are not taking all of this yourself." she said before the hose was turned on them.

Hannah gasped as the cold water hit her full force. Ryan had done what she had asked him to do for once, even if Embry didn't like it.

"Okay, enough." Sue said.

Seth turned off the water as Jacob handed Embry and Hannah towels. Embry shook his head in frustration as he dried himself off.

"Hannah I have some clothes inside so that you change." Emily said with a smile.

"Thank you." Hannah said following her into the house.

"You don't need to worry about her so much." Jacob said as the girls walked away.

"You should listen to your own advice." Embry said giving Jacob a stern look.

"I guess it's something that we both need to work on." Jacob said in agreement.

"Yeah." Embry said with a shy smile.

"Looks like Leah's laying the smack down on Ryan."

"Can we not talk about him right now?" Embry asked with a sigh.

"I know he's not your favorite person, but you have to get along with him because he's Hannah's brother."

"You sound like Bella." Embry teased.

"She's starting to rub off on me." Jacob said bashfully.

Bella came out of the house with Rachel, Emily, and Hannah. Nadine walked up to Hannah, putting a hand on her arm.

"That can't be good." Jacob observed.

"My mom doesn't even know we're together." Embry said, suddenly scared.

"Well you had better go tell her moron." Jacob said shoving him towards Hannah.

Bella walked over to where her dad sat with Sue and Billy.

"Hey, birthday girl." Sue said hugging her.

"Hey." Bella said with a smile.

"You don't have anything you want to tell me, do you?" Charlie asked from beside her.

"Like what?" she questioned in confusion.

"Billy and I aren't going to be grandparents?"

"When I find out you two will be the first to know after Jake and mom." she said with a nervous laugh.

"You would tell your mom before you would tell me?" he asked, hurt.

"She lives for that kind of stuff."

"Point taken." he said in agreement.

Rachel came over and put a hand on Bella's shoulder.

"Emily's getting ready to throw the bouquet."

All the girls formed a line. Emily stood a few feet away and threw the flowers over her shoulder. Hannah caught them and someone said, 'We all knew you'd catch it.' It sounded like Mae.

Charlie came to stand next to Bella a few minutes later.

"I need to go. I've got to work the graveyard shift tonight. I'll see you in the morning." he explained.

"Okay. Be careful."

"I always am." he said hugging her.

People started to leave half an hour later. Quil had offered to take Billy home so that Jacob could take Bella home. They were pulling up as the mailman was putting the mail in the mailbox.

Jacob went inside while Bella went to get the mail. She was going through it when she saw an envelope with writing she recognized.

"I got a letter from Alice." she said as she walked into the house.

She followed the noise that Jacob was making and found him in the kitchen.

"Your faucets broken." he said wiping water off of his face.

"I'll call someone in the morning." she promised.

"You don't need to do that. I'll fix it." he said reaching under the sink for Charlie's toolbox.

"You don't have to." she said, opening the letter.

She sat at the table while he took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

_Bella,_

_Happy birthday old lady! All of us miss you and wish we could be there. Tell Jacob that I miss his hugs already. Tell Charlie that my life isn't the same without him. Jasper pales in comparison to my knight with a holster and gun._

_I know that I'm being silly, but now that everything is in the past we can afford to be silly. No more worrying Bella my dear, promise me that. Because your future is pitch black as far as I can see except in one area._

_I had a vision of you at Charlie's. You were visibly pregnant, and there was a little girl who looked like she was about seven, maybe eight. She looked just like you Bella, she was beautiful. This won't happen anytime soon. Charlie had a full head of gray hair. He really will be a silver fox; his wife is going to be a lucky woman._

_Tell Hannah that her son will grow up to be a good man. Strong, smart, and he will have a caring, giving soul. Just like Embry._

_Back to you, Emmett and Rosalie say that they can't wait to see you. You will be accepted into the University of Tacoma. Congratulations! Carlisle has already written you a letter of recommendation. Let me know when you need it and I will send it out._

_I want you to be happy. No more looking back. You have someone who loves you more than life itself. You are one lucky girl, never forget that. You have family and friends who would put their lives on the line for you. I would do it again if I have the chance._

_I love you so very much,_

_Alice_

Bella set the letter down before standing. She stood next to Jacob, leaning against the counter.

"What did Alice have to say?"

"I'm going to the University of Tacoma apparently. Emmett and Rose can't wait."

Jacob bit back a growl at the mention of Rosalie's name.

"You need to be nice to her. She isn't going anywhere and neither are you. You'll just have to get used to her." she said to soothe him.

"It doesn't mean that I have to like it." he said with a sigh.

"How do you feel about having two kids, possibly more?" she questioned.

"Alice has seen our kids?" he asked in shock.

"Just our oldest, I was pregnant with our second. We're going to have a daughter who likes exactly like me."

"At least she'll be beautiful." he said looking at her.

She smiled shyly before averting his gaze.

"What?" he asked with a sigh.

"How did I get so lucky?" she asked with a light laugh.

"You were a saint in your past life?" he offered.

"Maybe." she said laughing again.

"Then I must have had a really hard life." he thought out loud in concern.

"Why do you think that?" she asked.

"How else would you explain my life? No one would believe me. I'm not sorry that it happened. It gave me you." he said leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"That's number twelve." she said with a sigh.

Jacob put the tools back under the sink after testing the faucet.

"Alice says that she misses you." she said as they sat down on the couch.

He pulled her into his lap, intertwining their hands. He looked at the bracelet she had gotten for her birthday, tracing the charms with a finger.

"This is from Rachel?" he asked holding the heart between his fingers.

"Yeah."

"Maybe she isn't as bitchy as I thought." he said eyeing it in suspicion.

"You push her buttons. She's going to react." she countered.

He pulled something out of his pocket and held the box from his car out to her. She took it from him pulling the top off. Inside was a key.

"What is this?" she asked in confusion.

"It's to the car that I am working on for you." he explained.

"What?" she asked turning to face him.

"Clementine isn't going to last much longer. I got you a car." he said with a sincere smile.

"Oh my God." she said throwing her arms around his neck.

"I'm glad you like it even though you haven't seen it yet." he said with a breathless laugh.

"I'm sure I'll love it."

He tightened his grip on her once she turned and leaned her head against his shoulder again. Things were slowing down for them. The whirlwind that they had been sucked into for the past nine months was finally over. They could relax and enjoy being together. They had earned it.

**AN****2****: I want to thank each and every one of you for reading this story. Like with all of my stories; I didn't expect much of a response when it first started. I am so appreciative for every review and**** every time that I saw that someone had added this story to their favorites list. I cannot thank you all enough. I love each and every one of you more than words can say.**


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